Concrete House of Cards
by Xoxoroxas
Summary: Roxas just wants to pretend to be normal, a clean slate, a new beginning. But his past certainly won't allow that. AkuRoku, yaoi, Rape, child abuse, suicide, character death, bullying, and drug abuse. Please read!
1. Preface

***Hey, this is the preface to my new fanfiction, Concrete House of Cards. You no like, you no read. I'm updating every Thursday. **Edit: Fuck that, I'm updating every other day.*****

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas regarded his life as a house of cards.

He kept building it up, though it was swaying.

Sometimes bits fell off.

Sometimes it crashed until there was only the supporting bottom layer.

But he kept building, trying to keep it from falling.

It always swayed dangerously, as though it would topple at any second.

But there were some days more stable than others.

Some days when the house of cards could take a small breeze and not fall.

But most days a few cards fell.

And Roxas just picked them back up and put them back on.

This is what he was thinking about as he lay motionless on the ground, trying not to breathe too hard.

With every breath a searing pain cut through his ribs and he wished to die.

He often wished that lately.

But he had to keep his promise to Xion.

If he didn't do that… then what good was he?

He'd be just as bad as _them_.

Maybe worse.

And sometimes, Roxas knocked over a few cards himself.

He was tired of this.

He just wanted not to feel.

Not to hurt.

But that wish can't come true.

In a few days he'd have his first day at a public school, something he had been dreaming about ever since Xion told him about them.

He could hang on to his house of cards a little longer.


	2. Concrete

*Hi guys! Uh… this is my first gay fic, so… don't kill me. I will NOT be doing any (graphic) sex scenes, and I hope you enjoy! Umm… I don't know if there even IS a child abuse month, but this is just a story… don't hurt me if I get some facts wrong…***

**Roxas Pov**

"I'll be back home later, mother." Roxas said to his mother, kissing her forehead as he walked out the door.

"Don't bother, sinner. I know you know I have mass. Get out of my sight." She hissed, gulping an unidentifiable liquid from a bottle. Her long black hair fell into her face and she hissed as she swatted it away from her alcohol-clouded blue eyes.

Roxas shook his head at her words as he left the house. She was always like this, but today he had to impress her, today he had to behave.

Or she'd send him back to the horrible private school. It was November, he had been there a few extra months before he convinced his parents to let him go to public school.

At least she didn't know about his jeans and tee-shirts, she thought he was going in fancy clothes.

His house was only a few blocks from the school so he decided to skip the bus and just walk. It was easier that way. He plugged his headphones (his mother didn't know about those either) into his ears and mouthed the words to Love the Way You Lie. He opened the doors to the total chaos that is an early morning school day and took a deep breath.

He could handle this.

He had learned plenty from TV shows and magazines.

The kids on the right were obviously the Goths… but they were laughing way too much.

The kids on the left were the preps, but they weren't all that stuck up… a cheerleader even smiled at him.

The nerds were by the lockers, but they weren't all playing D&D or anything.

The rockers were hanging out by the bathrooms. One kid even had a guitar with him. But they didn't look "stuck in the 80's".

The gangs were by the water fountain. Roxas made a mental note to bring his own drinks.

Roxas headed for the office, totally out of his depth. He accidentally bumped into a girl with pretty blonde hair.

"Oh! Sorry!" Roxas apologized, helping her to her feet.

"It's fine, I do that about a hundred times a day." The girl said with a grin. She got to her feet and frowned at him.

"What?" He asked at her frown.

"You're new, aren't you?" The girl asked.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded.

"I shall be your tour guide! I've been here since freshman year! What grade are you in?" She asked.

"I'm a junior." Roxas replied, curious about this odd girl.

"I'm Namine. That's my boyfriend, Marluxia." She giggled, pointing to a pink-haired teen. She pulled him over by Roxas.

"This is…um…a boy!" Namine explained to the person she just grabbed.

"Hi, I'm Roxas." Roxas said to the boy.

"Marluxia. Before you ask, I lost a VERY important bet, now I have to dye my hair pink for a year." He grumbled.

"Quit your complaining, it's your entire fault." Namine chided.

"I know." He sighed. Roxas grinned.

"Namine, where's the office?" Roxas asked, needing to get a schedule.

"Oh, we'll get your schedule later, now we have an assembly." She smiled. He shyly nodded back.

"I'll take him. You've gotta get ready." Marluxia said to Namine kissing her cheek. She giggled and walked away.

"So, why did you come here?" Marluxia asked as they made their way through the crowds to the gym.

"I was at a private school before, but I hated it. In fact, my mom thinks I'm wearing my uniform here. I have to hide jeans and stuff in my bag so I can get changed in the convenience store bathroom on the way here." Roxas admitted, shaking his head.

"Then why is your hair all spiked?" Marluxia asked

"My mom makes me comb it down with gel crap, so when I try to make it look less nerdy it just sticks up. So I spiked it." Roxas replied

"Okay, here's the gym. We've gotta find a few people…" Marluxia trailed off, looking around.

"Why's Namine gone anyways?" Roxas asked as they searched.

"Well, she's gonna sing. She wrote a song, and this month is child abuse awareness month or something, so… There they are!" Marluxia exclaimed walking towards a bright red spiky mess.

Roxas soon discovered it was a head.

"Roxas, this is Axel, Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene. They're Namine and my friends." Marluxia said, pointing to the red-head, the kid with the guitar, the kid with a giant book, and the girl with hair-antennas.

Roxas was a little confused, he'd seen the red-head with the punks, the guitar kid with the rockers, the bookworm with the nerds, and the girl… nowhere. He shook off the confusion and sat next to the redhead, Axel.

Before anyone could talk, the gym went dark and a spotlight shone on the stage. Namine walked into it.

"I wrote this song for my best friend. She died in 5th grade, but I could never talk about her before without crying, so I decided to write a song. It took me a long time to get it right, to get the right music, but I did it. Please listen for me." She said in an echoing voice.

There was silence.

Music bean to play. A lonely piano.

"She walks to school with the lunch she packed." Namine sang, her voice soft and beautiful.

_Nobody knows what she's holding back_

_Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday._

_She hides the bruises with her linen and lace,_

_Ohh._

_The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask,_

_It's hard to see the pain behind the mask._

_Bearing the burden of a secret storm,_

_Sometimes she wishes she was never born,_

_Through the wind and the rain,_

_She stands hard as a stone,_

_In her world that she can't rise above._

_But dreams give her wings,_

_And she flies to a place where she's loved_

_Concrete Angel._

Roxas's eyes mist as he remembers something. Something he pushed deep back inside his mind.

_Somebody cries in the middle of the night_

_The neighbors hear, but they turn out their light._

_A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate,_

_When morning comes it'll be too late._

_Through the wind and the rain,_

_She stands hard as a stone,_

_In her world that she can't rise above._

_But dreams give her wings,_

_And she flies to a place where she's loved_

_Concrete Angel._

Namine stands, swaying a little as a guitar solo starts up. She looks at her audience and sees a tear run down her new friend's cheek. He brushes it away quickly, and trains his eyes on a spot above her head.

_A statue stands in a shaded place, _

_And angel girl with an upturned face._

_Her name is written on a polished rock,_

_A broken heart that the world forgot._

_Through the wind and the rain,_

_She stands hard as a stone,_

_In her world that she can't rise above._

_But dreams give her wings,_

_And she flies to a place where she's loved_

_Concrete Angel._

A few strains of music echoed through the room and everyone was silent, then applause rang out.

Roxas's eyes were pretty full of water, so he turned to the red-head… um… Axel!

"Hey, where's the bathroom?" he asked, keeping his voice steady.

"I'll take you." Axel said, reaching out a hand to help Roxas up. Roxas flinched almost unnoticeably, but took his hand and got to his feet.

Roxas cursed in his mind, wanting a little time to himself.

"It's okay, you can just tell me where it is and I'll go myself. I'm sure there's more to the assembly." Roxas said quietly.

"Nah, the rest'll be a boring talk about child abuse. Like we don't already know about it." Axel scoffed.

Roxas said nothing.

Axel guided him out of the gym. They walked down the hall in relative silence aside from the quiet jingling of the chains on Axel's pants.

"On your left you will see the beautiful graffiti decorating the walls. On your right you will see the fountain that the gangs hang out by and request tolls for. I advise bringing a water bottle. There you will see a hole from two years ago. Ah, freshman year… That was a wicked dare… I think it's on my permanent record." Axel rambled, pretending to be a tour guide. Roxas smiled against the thoughts in his mind that were making him want to cry.

"And here we are at the restroom. I'll just be getting a drink while the fountains are unguarded. Take your time, I'm really thirsty." Axel announced. Roxas was grateful for the brief respite from other people. He had to get his shit together so when he went home his mother wouldn't get pissed at him. Or heaven forbid tell his FATHER. His mother wasn't nearly as bad as his dad.

Or at least, that's what Roxas told himself.

He went to the sink first and got a paper towel wet. He scrubbed the evidence of tears from his face and took a few deep breaths.

He could do this. He did this every day in private school.

But that song had got to him… Made him think of a little black-haired girl.

No! He couldn't think of that right now. He had to get it together!

His house of cards was swaying a lot today.

He wiped off his face and headed out as soon as it wasn't red.

Axel was waiting for him.

"Took you long enough." Axel huffed. He then directed Roxas's attention to the ceiling.

Why? Because every tile was painted.

"That's what the Art kids do. We have assemblies for music kids, and the writers have a website that you can read. There's some pretty good stuff there. This school is pretty art oriented, what with all the stuff for creative kids. But we also have a lot of sport teams and stuff, but it's still a public school. There are crappy kids. But most kids are nice, you just have to give them a chance." Axel explained as Roxas stared at the ceiling.

"Cool." He responded, looking at a blue curly heart against a black background.

"Yeah, well we're back at the gym." Axel said, opening the door to a teacher lecturing.

He and Roxas snuck in back to their original places. Namine was next to Roxas's empty spot.

"Where were you guys?" She hissed at them.

"Bathroom. We left AFTER your thing though." Axel said as he sat next to Roxas again.

"Okay. My house today, tell the others. Roxas, do you want to come?" She asked, turning to the blond.

"Nah, told my mom I'd be home right after school. Maybe another day." He lightly returned. He doubted his mom would ever let him come over.

"Kay. Did you like the song?" She asked curiously.

"It was pretty cool. Sounded like you really meant every lyric."

"I did." She said quietly.

Roxas nodded and turned to zone out in the direction of the lecturer.

It was lunch soon after. Roxas ate quickly, then watched everyone talk, unsure of how to join the conversation.

They went back to the gym for the rest of the freakin LONG assembly and Roxas zoned out again. Suddenly Namine was tapping his shoulder.

"Roxas? The assembly's over." She shook his shoulder.

"What? Oh sorry. I zoned out for a bit." He responded.

"Yeah it was a long one. We only have 7th hour left! C'mon, I'll show you the office." She led him out and told him what rooms were which. Soon they were at the office.

"Hello dear." A nice looking lady wearing pink said to Namine.

"Hi Areith. This is Roxas, he's new." Namine explained.

"Oh, I got his schedule today, just let me find it." She said happily, digging through her file cabinet.

"How are your flowers?" Namine asked, pointing to some beautiful yellow buds blooming in a pot on her desk.

"Oh, they're doing alright. How's your drawing going?" Areith asked, still rifling through files.

"They're pretty good. I'll show you my picture of that abandoned mansion next time I come in." Namine promised.

"Here it is! There you go Roxas. I think you know Cloud, correct?" She asked.

"How did you know?" Roxas asked.

"He told me a bit about you. Tell him to come by my place to pick up some flowers next time you see him. Zack wants to see him too." Areith explained. Roxas nodded.

"He'll be back from his job on vacation in a few days so I can tell him." Roxas promised.

"Thanks, now you better get to class." Areith suggested. They thanked her and waved goodbye.

"You know Cloud?" Namine asked curiously.

"Yeah, he's my brother." Roxas said quietly.

"Oh. He spoke at my best friend's funeral. I don't know where he knew her from though…" Namine trailed off.

"What was her name?" Roxas asked, already knowing.

"Aqua." Namine whispered. "She had blue hair and wore a star around her neck. She said her two brothers wore them too, but the day after she gave me one… she died."

"I'm sorry." Roxas whispered back.

"Her damn parents killed her. They hadn't been using their real names, or their children's real names. So her tombstone read "Aqua Star" but we know it wasn't her real name. I wonder what happened to her brothers. I never met them, but she told me a lot about them. One was named Ventus, one was named Terra, and she almost never mentioned Vanitas. She said that he and Ven never really got along. But they were twins…" Namine explained.

Roxas nodded for her to continue, though he knew all of this. He just wanted to see how much SHE knew.

"She said something about her brother Vanitas being brainwashed by their parents. Like, he would tell them stuff about the other kids and in return he'd get more freedom. Terra was in middle school. 8th grade, I think. She didn't talk about him much, but he wasn't around as often as the others. Aqua, Ventus, and Vanitas were in the same grade, but that was because almost immediately after their mom had the Aqua she got pregnant again with the twins, and since she had her just after the cut-off date for kindergarten, and she had the twins the following September just before, so they were in the same grade."

"That's strange." Roxas quietly responded.

"Yeah, but the parents enrolled Aqua in public school and the boys in private school, saying something about her always being bad…" Namine trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.

"You don't have to continue, I understand." Roxas comforted her. She latched on to him and he jerked violently out of her grip.

"Sorry! I just wasn't expecting that." Roxas apologized. He held out his arms and hugged her again, but very lightly. If anyone who passed had been looking, they would have seen him staring blankly off into space.

"Thanks Roxas. C'mon, the last class is Spanish!" She exclaimed leading him down the hall.

"How far is the class?" Roxas asked.

"It's Spanish 2." Namine responded.

"Oh good, I'm in Spanish 3, but we never really did anything. We're just about halfway through the Spanish 2 book." Roxas said, relieved.

"We're only a quarter through. The teacher's really good, but some students just don't pay attention." Namine complained.

"Oh well, I usually pay attention." Roxas smiled. Namine giggled and they entered the class.

After the hour Roxas went to the bathroom and changed into his "normal" clothes. He combed down his hair and stashed some stuff in his locker. Good thing he brought a lock.

"Whoa, you look like a total NERD." Axel laughed as they walked out of the school.

"Why thanks. Ugg, now I have to sneak these under my mom's nose to wash them." He complained, stuffing his jeans and tee-shirt into his backpack.

"I'll wash them for you." The musician, Demyx, offered.

"Really? Thanks!" Roxas said, smiling.

"Sure, I'll give 'em to you whenever they get clean. I can do that for whatever you need." He offered generously.

"Thanks a lot!" Roxas beamed.

"No problem. My mom makes me do the laundry anyways, so what's the harm in one more outfit?" Demyx explained.

Roxas steeled his nerves and hugged the boy, letting go quickly.

"I owe you. Later!" He waved to his new friends. And walked home.

***Okay! First chapter! Did you like it? Please review, even if it's just "I like this fic!" or something. Bonus cookies for whoever reviews! I shall take suggestions and questions, though I do not guarantee their use or answering. Next chapter shall be at Roxas's house!***


	3. Bruises

***Okay! This is ze next chapter! We shall meet Roxas's family and see a bit of his… past. Yeah… that'll be a fun conversation for him and his friends when they learn more about him, and that won't be for a while… I think… I dunno, I'm pretty much just writing as I think shit up, so… things may just go wherever they want to go… my fanfics kinda write themselves, odd as that may be… enough of my midnight babbling, I must write my idea down before five in the morning, or else I won't be able to kick my brother's ass in guitar hero tomorrow! I love summer break. Oh, by the way, the song in the last chapter was Concrete Angel by Martina McBride, I suggest you listen to it. ***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas walked in the front door and checked his reflection in the hall mirror. Looked like a private school nerd. Great! Ready for his parents.

"Mother, I'm home." He called, walking to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He noticed a chain on the fridge. Shit.

"Hello, son." A deep rumbling voice came from behind him that almost made him pee his pants. He turned to see his blond father with dark brown eyes filled with hate. Roxas swallowed thickly.

"Hello father." Roxas whispered, drinking his glass of water, though he wanted to barf. Roxas finished quickly and washed the cup in the sink, drying it before returning it to the shelf.

There, no glass out.

Out of nowhere a fist punched Roxas's stomach. He doubled over in pain and the hits kept coming to his arms and legs.

Oh, he was gonna have bruises all OVER tomorrow.

"Your mother was driving past your school today. She saw you associating with… bad people. Like that… redhead, and the kid with the mullet. They are bad kids, your mother heard about them from her church friends." Roxas's father said to him.

"But they seemed nice…" Roxas's whispered reply was cut off by a foot to his stomach.

"SEEMED NICE? They are disgusting people! Sinners! You should be ashamed to even walk by them! I would expect this behavior from your sister-" The man began, but Roxas cut him off.

"You have no right to talk about her!" Roxas yelled back at his father, furious and knowing that his punishment couldn't get any worse, so what the hell? Well, actually… it COULD always get worse.

"You DARE talk back!" His father yelled into his face. Roxas was pretty scared now, with good reason, so he just nodded hoping not to pee his pants.

"Get. To. The. Room. Before. You. Regret. Being. Born." His father slowly pronounced through his teeth. He dragged Roxas to his feet and shoved him to the other side of the kitchen, where he almost fell again, but remained on his feet, grabbed his backpack, and walked down the flight of stairs.

Roxas winced as he sat on his bed. He was gonna be stuck in here for DAYS. He hated his room. It was the same room his sister…

Nevermind. They had just moved back to this town last year. He saw some familiar faces at the private school, but… he didn't really like them. They bought the same house they had lived in before, but the seller didn't remember them.

Roxas sighed and winced as he looked at the ceiling. He took out his Spanish book and started getting caught up on some homework, but his mom came down the stairs.

"You little shit! Sinner! Abomination!" The woman screamed, slapping her son's face. Roxas cringed as she punched his already bruised arms.

"You dare go against us? We can pull you out of that school at any time and send you back to the private one!" She screamed. Roxas remained silent.

"Or do you want us to ship you back to the private school in Twilight Town?" His mother asked in a low, taunting voice.

"No." Roxas gasped, his eyes widening at the thought. Not there.

"Then shape up or I'll call your aunt. She'll be MORE than happy to send you to that school. Do your homework and don't fuck things up for once in your life." His mother demanded. She ripped his Spanish book out of his hands.

"Is this all you have?" She screeched.

"Yeah, there was an assembly today." Roxas mumbled to her.

"I expect all your homework from the past two months in by Monday, do I make myself clear?" She asked grasping him by the neck.

"Crystal." He choked out as she relinquished her grasp in his throat.

"And remember, I'll be watching." She hissed. She walked to the door, and then suddenly turned around.

"None of you were ever any good. You all are so horrible, you deserve this! Your brother, who's name is such a scar on this world that I won't even say it. Cloud, he'll probably tell that GIRL of his about us, then we'll have to move again. Your sister…" She trailed off, catching his eyes in her cold gaze.

"…Deserved everything she got." Roxas mumbled, relaying the rehearsed lines for her. She smirked and grabbed a flask from her pocket as she slammed the door.

"And don't expect dinner!" She called through the wood.

Roxas sighed again. His stomach rumbled.

"Hush you. We've gotta think of a plan. Hmm… I'm not Harry Potter, so waiting for Hagrid to come get me is out…" Roxas said to his stomach as he worked on conjugating words.

"How about we wing it? I have some cash stashed away and I can sell my ipod… I'm so glad that Sora left most of his clothes when he left town, we're about the same size so I don't have to worry about that… hmm… gotta figure out how to make money. I've been here for a year, so it shouldn't be that hard… God, I wish Sora had told me he was leaving when he left. He DID say he'd come back though… before mom and dad broke the computer and smashed my cell phone. This is stupid, why don't I just tell someone already?" Roxas asked himself, his paper getting wet from his tears.

"Fuck, now the teacher's gonna think I'm weird. I'll just say water spilled on it. Not that she'll ask." Roxas mumbled to himself.

"I hope Cloud DOES tell Tifa, they can't hurt Cloud anymore, he's gone. But that leaves me alone…" Roxas whispered to himself later.

He finished his work quickly, he was rather good at Spanish, and looked at his clock… okay, maybe not quickly… it was 2:00.

His house of cards was more unstable than usual. But he needed to pull through this, he had wanted this, right?

"Xion… Sora… I need you guys. Where are you?" He whispered as he fell asleep.

The next day Roxas woke up to the sound of his mother screaming at him about God and such. Not that Roxas believed in Him anymore. His mother left him so he could get changed.

Roxas was grateful he had this room, because he and his sister had found loose floorboards when they were little. There were TONS in the room, Roxas still found little stuff they used to stash there before they moved. He grabbed a long shirt, jeans, and a hoodie to change into at the gas station and he grabbed a comb. He dressed in his geeky uniform, which was a short sleeve dress shirt under a sweater with the school logo and some kaki pants.

God, Roxas was hungry. It wasn't all that bad though. Just missing two meals was okay. He could function.

He walked quickly to the gas station and changed. He got himself a candy bar and ate it on the way to school. Suddenly Demyx broke a square off and ate it.

"Aww, dude you got Roundy's, not Hershey's! I must educate you in the ways of chocolate!" He said happily. Roxas laughed, then looked around nervously.

"What's up?" He asked, noticing Roxas looking around.

"Oh, I had a feeling I was being watched…" Roxas trailed off, remembering how his mom had seen him with them the day before.

"Oh I hate it when that happen-AHG!" His complaint was cut off by Larxene jamming one of those "shocker button" things that are used for prank handshakes into his arm. Roxas burst out laughing along with Namine, who appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey Roxas! Ooh! Candy! Share?" She asked, turning her puppy dog eyes on him.

"Careful Namine, Marly might not like his girlfriend giving another boy 'the eyes'." Larxene warned as Demyx unleashed a string of curses on her. Roxas laughed again and broke off a piece of chocolate for her.

"Hey now, I HOPE you're not excluding ME, cuz everyone knows what happens when they exclude ME." Larxene warned, eyeing Roxas's chocolate.

"What happens?" Roxas asked, breaking off a chunk for her.

"She hangs you from the ceiling. By your balls." Demyx warned. Larxene cackled as Roxas winced.

"So, where do you live?" Namine asked casually.

"On Garden Avenue. Actually on the corner of Radiant and Garden." Roxas replied.

"Holy shit, that's a long ass walk. Why don't you take the bus?" Demyx asked

"I like walking. It's all quiet… I can listen to music… and USUALLY enjoy my breakfast in peace." Roxas grumbled the last thing at them, but they laughed.

"That's what friends are for! Disturbing the peace!" Larxene exclaimed. Namine sighed and shook her head at her insane friends. Looks like she didn't have to tone down the craziness after all.

They arrived at school a few minutes later and met up with Axel, Zexion, and Marluxia by the door.

"Hey little buddy!" Axel said, messing up Roxas's hair and laughing at the effects. Roxas shook his head and the spikes went back to their normal places.

"Is he always this happy?" Roxas asked Namine as Axel was animatedly re-telling Demyx and Larxene some story involving a BB gun, a marshmallow, a bear, and some AA batteries.

"His caffeine just kicked in." Namine answered, watching him mime the bike crashing into the bear in his story.

"Oh… That makes a lot of sense now…" Roxas nodded, both of them transfixed by his mimery.

"Namine, do you have any of these classes?" Roxas asked presenting his schedule.

"Hmm…Well, Demyx has math with you first hour, Axel has science with you second, Zexion has English third, Larxene and Demyx have history fourth, I have art fifth, no one has study hall with you, and we have Spanish together." Namine said, scanning the paper.

"Wow, you have English with ZEXION?" Demyx asked, grabbing the paper and reading for himself.

"Yes, what's so surprising about that?" Roxas asked defensively.

"Ooh, touchy… he was like, BORN with a 12th grade reading level." Demyx reported. Zexion appeared not to be paying attention behind his book.

"Yeah… I remember him reading chapter books in 1st grade and the teacher saying it wasn't allowed…" Marluxia said fondly.

"And Zexion saying that he was right, books that childish SHOULDN'T be allowed." Axel recalled, shaking his head.

"Anyways… who's homeroom are you in?" Namine asked excitedly.

"Um… It says I get to choose…" He said, looking at the "Homeroom Teacher Application" stapled to the page.

"DIBS!" Axel yelled.

"Aw… no fair…" Demyx whined.

"Axel should have someone in his homeroom who'll keep him relatively sane and not attacking the poor other kids." Marluxia added.

"Aww, but that was good youtube material…" Larxene pouted.

"Okay… Give me the info on your homeroom and I'll fill it out." Roxas said to Axel, who was almost jumping up and down excitedly as he relayed the info.

"Okay, Mr. Siax, room 8, teacher agreement…" Roxas read off.

"We still need to get him to sign it. Well, we're here early, so we can barge in." Axel said happily.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Axel? He might be busy…" Roxas trailed off.

"Nah, his whole life is school, so-" He was cut off by some muffled groans coming from room 8.

"Get the camera." Axel hissed, throwing his phone to Roxas.

"Why me?" He asked, shoving the cell back in Axel's hands.

"Fine, I'll do it. Don't want you to die on your first day, now do we?" Axel asked, clicking a few buttons.

"Roxas, this is a pull door. Hide behind it and I swear you won't get caught. Just get my phone when I shove it through the crack so that I don't have any evidence on me." Axel commanded. Roxas sighed and agreed.

He slowly pulled open the door on the unaware Siax and… principal Xemnas? Axel had the record button on… Xemnas and Siax were… doing things that probably shouldn't be done before Roxas's virgin eyes. After recording enough, Axel slipped the phone through the crack in the door and Roxas decided to record the rest through his hiding place.

"Uh, Siax… I'll come back at a better time…" Axel trailed off, pretending to have just opened the door.

"GET OUT!" Xemnas yelled at the top of his lungs while Siax laughed nervously beneath him.

Axel bolted out of the room and Roxas ran from behind the door. He turned off the recording on the phone and threw it back to Axel, who was laughing his ass off all the way to his friends. Roxas cracked up a little later, after the shock of what he saw wore off.

They both almost ran into Namine. As soon as they could breath again they looked at each other and immediately burst out laughing. Axel actually fell over he was laughing so hard and Roxas's bruises around his ribs hurt like hell.

As soon as they were coherent enough to speak they handed Marluxia the phone. He and Demyx watched it, laughing and trying not to let the girls see. Finally Larxene forced it out of their hands. She, Zexion, Namine, Marluxia, and Demyx watched as Axel was forced out of the room and as Roxas and Axel ran down the hall.

"Ahem, I DO remember a bet about this…" Axel announced to Marluxia, holding out his hand.

"Goddamnit." The pink-haired boy grumbled handing him a key.

"You have a car?" Namine asked, confused.

"No, but I do have a bottle cap collection from when I was ten till now. I didn't think Axel could get this on tape…" Marluxia sighed.

"Muahahahaha! My collection grows…" Axel exclaimed, deviously rubbing his hands together.

"Dude, you really have to stop taking bets." Demyx said to his pink-haired friend.

"Well, I just wanted to collect my dues. Roxas and I gotta go and get him signed up to be my homeroom buddy!" Axel exclaimed, grabbing Roxas's wrist to lead him back to the room. Roxas jerked out of his grip immediately and winced. Axel had grabbed his bruise.

"Sorry, fell down the stairs and got a bruise there!" Roxas explained when Axel turned a questioning gaze on him. Axel shrugged.

"C'mon, I hope Siax'll forgive us…" Axel mumbled as they wove through the crowd. They got to the room and Axel knocked on the door.

"Come in!" was heard through the wood. Axel grinned and opened the door.

"Hey Siax! We've got a new kid and he wanted to be in this homeroom, so can you fill out the form?" Axel asked.

"It's Mr. Siax, Axel. Only after he answers a few questions." Siax responded, looking up from his papers.

"Okay." Roxas said in agreement, walking towards the desk.

"Are you friends with Axel?" Siax asked.

"Uh, sure. We just met yesterday though." Roxas responded, caught off guard by the question.

"Can you help make sure he behaves?" Siax asked

"Umm…" Roxas honestly had no idea.

"Hey! I'm right here!" Axel complained.

"Well, I can't guarantee it, but I'll try…" Roxas trailed off, not meaning that at all.

"Okay, so are your parents bad at conferences?" Siax questioned.

"You have no idea. They get this disappointed stare…" Roxas trailed off again, thinking about the upcoming conferences.

"Oh well, that can't be helped. Do you get good grades?"

"I guess…"

"He's got all AP classes!" Axel offered from his place by the door. Roxas showed Siax his schedule and Saix seemed impressed.

"Alright, bring this to Areith and report here after 2nd hour. You've got a month to catch up on homework, and I expect your parents for conferences." Saix proclaimed, sending the boys out of his office so he could continue his day-dream of earlier that morning.

Roxas and Axel rushed off to Areith's office. She filed away the paper and just as the two boys exited the bell rang.

"Well, later Roxas. Tell Demyx hi for me." Axel commanded as he walked off to his class. Roxas found the math room without getting too lost and took the vacant seat that Demyx had saved for him.

"Thought you'd take a little break, huh?" Demyx asked, clearing his books off Roxas's desk.

"Hush, this school is confusing." Roxas pouted. Demyx patted him on the shoulder and Roxas flinched.

"So, what're you learning?" Roxas asked, squinting at the board from the back row.

"Uh… that weird… um… Q thing…" Demyx tried to explain.

"Here!" he threw the notes to Roxas, who caught them and read them in his head.

"Oh, I know what this is." Roxas responded.

"Yeah, good at notes, not good at explaining." Demyx smiled and looked at the board, copying everything exactly.

"My class is a little ahead of you guys, so I'll just do some of the make-up work… The teacher gave me a list when I walked in." Roxas glared at the paper in his hands.

"Aw, at least you have a month to do it all." Demyx consoled him.

"No, my mom thinks I should get it done in a week." Roxas muttered, furiously scratching down equations.

"A week? That's insane!" Demyx exclaimed.

"I know. She's a bit crazy when it comes to school, but she just wants me to do my best." Roxas muttered, getting onto the next assignment.

"Wow, you work fast." Demyx admired.

"Yeah, I had a scholarship for that dumb school, but I still hate it. Everyone was all stuck up, you know? No one had a sense of humor." Roxas explained while sharpening his dulled pencil.

"Yes, you left a great smart school because there was no sense of humor, because THAT makes sense." Demyx sarcastically muttered at him. Roxas laughed.

"You try going to a school where they only have one teacher per grade who teaches every subject for that class. There were forty of us, but every single one had no sense of humor. And they talked way too loud to hear the teacher. And the classes were too slow. And I had no friends." Roxas admitted, already on the third piece of homework.

"Damn, with the way you work you'll be done with all your homework within the week!" Demyx exclaimed.

"I hope we didn't have to read any books in English… It'll take forever to read a whole book and write stuff about it, like a DAY." Roxas complained. Demyx shook his head.

"I'm just good at math because there's a lot of math in music. I wish I could read a book in a day. Then I MIGHT be able to read all the books that Zexion recommended." Demyx grumbled.

"Class, this is stupid. You all may have a free period." The teacher announced from the front of the class. The teacher then got up and left.

"Ummm…?" Roxas asked, staring at the teacher's desk in shock.

"Oh, Cid does that sometimes. This just means he needs a smoke, he'll be back in a few minutes." Demyx explained, picking up a book and frowning as he read. The book was labeled Bruises.

"What's that about?" Roxas asked as he looked at the cover.

"Oh, this girl in a different country who gets beaten up by her mom because she looks like her mom's dead brother." Demyx explained.

"Wow." Roxas mutters, wanting to run to the bathroom.

"Yeah. It's really weird. Zexion told me to read it. He read it a few years back." Demyx said between sentences.

"Okay, do you think Cid'll mind if I go to the bathroom?" Roxas asked

"Nah, in fact he says we should just get up and go if we have to. Saves time." Demyx explained, not looking up from his book.

"Kay." Roxas whispered, getting up from his desk and making his way to the bathroom. Tears started leaking down his face well before he made it in.

God, why did everything here have to remind him of her? I was messing with his head!

Don't panic, it's just a popular topic, it happens to tons of people, that's why. Because it's an interesting storyline.

Xion would know what to say, Sora probably would too. Too bad they're not here…

Just had to make it a few more hours. Then he could go freak out in his room.

***End chapter. Don't worry, next chapter'll be up before you know it!***


	4. The First Day

***Hey! It's the new chapter of Concrete House of Cards. Admit it, you love this story, don't you? I love it too, just because I have no idea what's going to happen next. Fun! Well, have fun reading, I have to go wash this nasty lip gloss off. Eww…***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas got through the rest of his Math class without an incident. Demyx was too caught up in his book to really talk and Roxas had to work on homework anyways.

Roxas shoved his new math book into his locker and rushed to his next class. He had Axel in it, and it was just AP Chemistry, so it wouldn't be that bad, right?

Right?

He walked in and there was an Asian lady running around the front of the class chasing a small red lizard that had smoke coming out of its mouth. Everyone in the class was sitting down at their desks except Roxas, whose locker was on the fourth floor, while this class was on the first, so…

He was standing stunned in the doorway while the lady put the lizard on her shoulder and finally noticed him. She giggled and walked up to him.

"Hello, you must be my new student. I'm Mulan Fa, but everyone calls me Ms. Mulan. This is Mushu, he ate something on fire AGAIN. Anyways, here are your books, and you can sit… hmm… sorry, but the only empty spot is next to Axel. He's a bit of a fire hazard." Mulan apologized.

"It's okay, he's my friend." Roxas smiled and took his book back to his seat, where Axel was quietly laughing.

"What's up?" Roxas asked.

"I lit this thing on fire, right? It had a solution on it that made it glow bright green, which looked pretty cool, so I was watching it and out of nowhere Mushu comes and EATS it! Then he's running around smoking and Mulan's trying to catch him, and YOU walk in! Your face was PRICELESS!" Axel laughed.

"It's nice to hear that someone thought this was normal." Roxas grumbled.

"What was she talking to you about anyways?" Axel asked after he regained his composure.

"Just telling me that you were a fire hazard." Roxas stated, opening his book to take notes while Mulan was talking about the stuff in the next chapter. She had handed him a list of homework with the books so he got started on it.

"You're doing homework? What the hell? You have a month!" Axel exclaimed after sneaking a peek at his paper.

"My mom told me I had to have it done in a week. If you knew my mom you'd want to be on her good side too, or she'd ground you. And my room's in the basement. No windows to sneak out of, no backdoors. Concrete walls." Roxas explained as he worked on ionic bonds.

"Why not-" Axel's suggestion was cut off by Roxas.

"Go upstairs and try to sneak out? Because all that's upstairs is the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Windowless bathroom, and my mom usually falls asleep on the couch, so the front door and living room window are out. The kitchen door squeaks along with the backdoor, and my mom wakes up if you so much as step too loud. My dad sleeps upstairs, and my brother's room is up there too, but even if I wanted to, the stairs squeak, which would wake up my mom. The only way to get out is jumping up the stairs, getting through my brother's room, but only if he's away that day, going out his window, falling on the garage roof, jumping down, and leaving. But it's REALLY hard to get back, so I only use that once in a while." Roxas explained.

"Holy shit, you really thought this through." Axel admired.

"Yeah. I never got caught once. Of course, I've only used that escape twice…" Roxas admitted, as he pulled out a new piece of homework. Axel shook his head.

"Only TWICE?"

"Hey, that's the ONLY way out. I don't want it taken away until I'm at least in college. Actually, I'm grounded now. Damn, this weekend's gonna SUCK." Roxas complained.

"How'd you get grounded?" Axel asked

"Silly mom stuff. She's being a freak about the whole 'public school' thing." Roxas admitted, miming quotation marks around "public school".

"Wow, you're mom's weird." Axel blurted.

Roxas just looked up at him.

"Open mouth. Insert foot." Axel muttered, facepalming.

"Yep, so anyways, I'll probably be un-grounded by… Tuesday. Probably. I hope." Roxas muttered.

"Will you be grounded next Friday night?" Axel asked

"Who knows?" Roxas muttered, deep in his work.

"Well, if you're free, we're all sleeping over at Namine's house. Pizza, soda, pillow fighting, you know, usual sleepover stuff. Well, girl sleepover stuff." Axel amended.

"I'll see." Roxas said hesitantly.

"Class dismissed!" Mulan called from the front of the room.

Roxas and Axel collected their books and stopped at their lockers before entering Siax's homeroom. To be honest, Roxas was a little embarrassed around the man because of how he deflowered Roxas's eyes.

"Hello Roxas. Everyone, this is Roxas. Roxas, this is everyone. Talk to them if you choose, or let them talk to you. Now sit next to your little friend and nobody leave until the bell dismisses you, I've got some… unfinished business with Xemnas." Saix commanded.

"Looks like Areith'll be doing announcements again." Axel laughed as Roxas sat next to him.

"He's scary… How did he get those scars?" Roxas asked.

"Well, he's not that old actually. In fact, he used to baby sit me. Those scars are from the first time he met Xemnas… Xemnas was in this Japanese sword-fighting practice thing, and I dared Saix to run across the gym as fast as he could…" Axel trailed off.

"Holy shit." Roxas muttered, visualizing a little Axel baiting younger Saix into that.

"Yeah. Saix could've had it surgically fixed, but he figured that it would remind him of something… Weather the reminder was 'That's from when I first met Xemnas!' or 'Never take Axel's dares… EVER.' Is anyone's guess." Axel explained.

"Oh well, at least everything worked out for them." Roxas mumbled, still working on his homework.

"Still?" Axel exclaimed

"One week!" Roxas yelled back.

"I feel so left out of this conversation." Namine stated as she walked up to their desks.

"Hey Namine, I was just explaining to Axel that I only have ONE WEEK to do all my homework while he was on my case about it." Roxas grumbled.

"Axel, play nice with your new friend." Namine commanded, sitting next to them.

"Tattle tale." Axel muttered.

Roxas stuck his tongue out.

Axel pretended to try to bite it.

"Eww!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Axel!" Namine yelled.

"Goddamnit." Axel muttered.

Then the bell rang.

"Later Axel! Bye Namine!" Roxas called as he shoved some stuff in his bag and rushed to his next class.

"Later!" They both yelled. It seemed that they had class with Saix next.

Roxas rushed to English, still completely lost in this building. He began thinking about his new friends and smiling to himself. When he thought about Axel his stomach started feeling funny, but he dismissed it as hunger.

He found the room he was looking for after only a few wrong turns. He entered and was greeted by a pretty young woman with brown hair, who was wearing a blue dress with an apron.

"Hello! My name is Ms. Belle. You must be Roxas, right? Areith told me about you. If you see Sora any time soon tell him hi for me!" Belle cheerfully said as she gave him a stack of books.

"Whoa, is this all the stuff I missed?" Roxas asked.

"No, it's just for the rest of the year. You only missed the first two books. The homework is on a piece of paper inside of Moby Dick." She smiled and pointed to the classroom filled with… comfy chairs?

"Pick a seat. You get to read whatever you want, just make sure that you write a couple reports on the books I gave you by the end of the school year, you really only missed two assignments. My students are too smart to be taught, except from books they read! Ah, students WISH they were in my class. So, get to work!" Belle commanded, gesturing to the bookcases surrounding her.

"Hey Zexion." Roxas whispered as he sat next to the blue-haired teen.

"Hey." He returned, flipping a page. Roxas grinned, he knew that voice. He had used it often enough, it was the "Get the Hell away from me, can't you tell I'm reading?" voice.

He sat and wrote a report on Moby Dick, he had already read it. By the end of class he had turned it in and begun work on The Scarlet Letter.

"Whoa, you read fast." Roxas admired as Zexion put down the thick book he was reading and grabbed another one.

"Yeah. Why are you writing? Shouldn't you be Ishmael-ing it up?" Zexion asked, referring to Moby Dick.

"Done. Read that and The Scarlet Letter last year. I'm just writing reports on them now." Roxas admitted as he packed up. Zexion did too, he apparently hadn't heard the bell.

"Yeah, it was okay… the symbolism was kinda interesting…" Zexion admitted. He stared at Roxas for a minute and opened his mouth, then shut it.

"Just give me the list." Roxas sighed.

"Hmm?" Zexion asked.

"Demyx said you had a list of books on you at all times in case you meet someone who reads fast, give me the list." Roxas commanded.

"Yes!" Zexion exclaimed, handing him a piece of wrinkled paper.

"I will read at least the first three by the end of next week! I can't this week because of homework." Roxas explained.

"Okay. I'm just sick of not being able to talk to someone about books." Zexion said as they walked down the hall.

"I know, right? No one at my old school liked to read outside of class. They were all super stuck up." Roxas asked.

"Did you have any friends?" Zexion asked.

"I had friends at my old old school, the one before I moved here, but… I don't have a cell phone and my parents broke my computer…" Roxas admitted

"How'd they break it?" Zexion asked.

"They dropped it in the move. They won't buy me a new one yet and I don't have enough money, so I'll just be computer-less for a while." Roxas lied, stopping at his locker.

"Well, you have a free hour. There are computers in the library and Beast doesn't mind if you use them for personal stuff." Zexion informed him. Roxas beamed.

"Yes! Olette will be so happy! Hayner'll be pissed at me for not talking to them. Pence'll just be normal. I should probably remind Sora that I exist too…" Roxas said, speaking his thoughts.

"Well, here's my next class. Later Roxas!" Zexion interrupted, waving.

"Oh, bye!" Roxas smiled, returning the wave and walking to his next class.

"Oi, who's this new one?" The teacher asked, pointing to Roxas as he entered the room.

"I'm Roxas. I just transferred here." Roxas explained to the obviously drunk teacher.

"Well, pull up a chair. Take the one next to that one, she's a savage little nymph, keep your eye on her." The teacher ordered.

"Uh… I kinda need my books. And all the work I'm missing." Roxas said hesitantly.

"I'll just give you an A for whatever you missed. Here's a book, might'a spilled rum on it at some point, but ah well. Now sit! We've got learning to do!" He ordered. Roxas sat next to Demyx and Larxene.

"What's up with him?" Roxas asked.

"Captain Jack's got issues, but he's the coolest teacher. At least I think so." Demyx informed him.

"Captain?" Roxas whispered.

"Yep! Call him that or 'He'll hang you in the dungeon by your toes!'" Larxene laughed.

"Well, I've seen weirder." Roxas shook his head.

"Class, today we learn of pirates!" Captain Jack yelled from the front of the room.

After a very cool class Roxas headed to lunch with Larxene and Demyx.

They got food and he went off to the table where the others were already eating.

"Hey." He said with a smile.

"Why no food?" Axel asked with his mouth full.

"Not hungry." Roxas muttered. In truth his parents had a way of finding out if he bought food at school, so he really couldn't. He resolved to buy lunch at the store he changed at in the morning.

"Well, we were discussing Namine's party. Come on Roxas! You have to come!" Axel exclaimed.

"I don't know! I'll see. I'll even use the window if I have to." Roxas said to Axel's puppy-dog eyes.

"Yay! Puppy eyes win again!" Axel exclaimed, clapping. Namine sighed.

"You don't have to do that, you know. I'll be fine if you don't want to risk getting in trouble for this." Namine smiled worriedly.

"Nah, I'm fine. I need to use it sometime anyways, that's what it's for." Roxas responded.

"Okay, my house is on Destiny and Island streets. It's a corner house." Namine informed him, smiling.

"I'll be there. What time?" Roxas asked.

"8:00 till 11:00 AM."

"Okay." Roxas sighed, a tiny bit of worry evident in his voice.

They talked about random stuff through the rest of lunch and soon Roxas and Namine were on their way to Art.

"Art's really fun, the teacher lets us paint the ceiling!" Namine exclaimed, opening the door. A lady with a very thick braid that hung to the floor smiled at Roxas.

"Hi! You must be my new student. I'm Rapunzel, my parents named me after that fairy tale, and I teach art! What do you like?" She asked, hyper.

"Um… we didn't really have an art program at my old school…" Roxas trailed off. The teacher nearly fell off the ladder that she was standing on.

"No art? They must be crazy! Here, just do a few sketches and we'll see if you're a drawer." Rapunzel commanded, handing him a sketchbook.

Roxas sat next to Namine, who was doing a detailed drawing of Marluxia, and thought of something to draw. He was lost. Then he got an inspiration, his Wayfinder. He drew it very lightly, in pencil. Then, he erased the middle and drew an eye, a big blue eye, much like his own. He colored in the Wayfinder, blue, and the eye, a darker blue. Then the bell rang. He got up and presented the drawing to the hyper woman on the ladder.

"Oh. My. God. That's awesome! Draw more! You're almost as good as Namine!" She exclaimed.

"Okay. Did I miss any assignments?" Roxas asked as everyone filed out of the room.

"No, this is really just a free hour where you do art instead of texting." Rapunzel explained. Roxas nodded and headed out to the library.

He was wandering around, trying to find the library, when he bumped into someone. The only person in the halls.

"Why, if it isn't the little new kid." The tall boy smirked.

"W-who are you?" Roxas stuttered.

"I'm Seifer. This is Rai, and that's Fuu. We're the disciplinary committee. And you violated rule number 1." Seifer growled.

"What's that?"

"No questions. Get him!" He yelled. At this, Roxas decided that now would be a good time to run.

He was halfway down the hall when Rai tackled him.

It hurt like hell, Rai landed on all of Roxas's bruises. Seifer and Fuu began throwing punches and Roxas just curled up and took it. He could stand a few bruises, but not a letter home.

They finally left Roxas who was lying sideways, clutching his stomach and trying not to drool blood all over the place. A tear leaked out of his eye and he tried to get on to his knees at least. He didn't want to be lying there when class got out.

Out of nowhere Axel appeared, walking down the hall. He saw Roxas trying to get up, bruises evident, wide eyes, blood splattered on the floor. He froze for a moment, as did Roxas until Roxas fell back onto his side with a sound of pain.

**Axel Pov**

"Roxas!" Axel exclaimed, rushing over to his side and attempting to pick him up. Roxas jerked away.

"Roxas, just TRY to sit still, okay? I'm taking you to Areith." Axel said, trying to stay calm. 

"No, you can't! She'll tell my parents! Or Cloud… She'll tell him for sure!" Roxas gasped out.

"Well suck it up. I'll make sure Areith doesn't tell anyone." Axel promised. Roxas grabbed his hand.

"Promise." He demanded, squeezing the hell out of Axel's hand. His eyes were deadly serious.

"Promise." Axel winced. And with that Roxas proceeded to pass out.

"Great." Axel groaned. He carried the boy to Areith's office and put him down outside the room. Roxas was dangerously light.

"Areith, you've gotta promise me something." Axel said seriously.

"What, Axel?" She asked, curiosity in her voice.

"It's not bad, like I didn't kill anyone or get anyone pregnant. Not doing drugs, not anorexic. Just promise not to tell anyone." Axel demanded.

"Okay." She said.

Axel carried in Roxas.

"Someone got to him. Roxas made me promise to get you to not tell his parents." Axel explained, setting Roxas on one of the beds.

"Why are you out of class?" Areith asked.

"Well, I WAS coming down here to get an aspirin, but I kinda found him bleeding all over the floor. Then I tried to pick him up, but he jerked away and made me promise to make you not tell anyone." Axel explained.

"Well, he's lucky they didn't get his face. Those take forever to go away, plus they make you look like a panda." Areith said, looking over his visible skin.

"Can't you take off his shirt or something?" Axel asked.

"Against the rules. I'll only be able to if he gives me permission, and I really don't think that'll happen." Areith admitted.

"Come on! If Xemnas gives you crap about it I've got blackmail stuff on my phone!" Axel exclaimed.

"Fine… but only so we can make sure he's not bleeding or anything." Areith allowed. They took his shirt off .

Axel gasped. Roxas's whole torso was purple-ish and Axel could clearly see the blonde's ribs.

The bell rang in the background. Roxas had been lying there for almost an hour.

Areith and Axel put his shirt back on just in time for him to wake up.

**Roxas Pov**

A red blur and a fuzzy brown shape stood over Roxas.

"Roxas! What the hell?" Axel yelled.

"Axel! He just woke up!" Areith chided him.

"What's… oh." Roxas realized what was going on as he asked what was going on.

"Why don't you want your parents to know?" The now clear Axel asked Roxas as Areith left the room.

"I'll give both of your teachers slips for your absence. I'll be in the front room, why don't you take Roxas to the counseling room? I put away the files." Areith told Axel, reemerging from the room.

Axel nodded and picked up Roxas, who jerked a tiny bit, but tried to stay still.

"Roxas… why don't you want them to know?" Axel asked. Roxas remained silent.

"Roxas… I just want to help…" Axel said quietly.

"You know how you can help? Tell the others that Seifer beat me up. I'm going to get my stuff and go home. It'll take longer like this." Roxas said quietly.

"Seifer did this?" Axel gasped.

"Yes. Can you help me get my stuff? I've got a top locker and it hurts to move my arms…" Roxas trailed off.

"Yeah." They walked down the newly deserted halls and Roxas opened the lock on his locker.

"Just put them all in the bag." Roxas said when Axel asked what he needed.

"You can't take them all! The bag'll weigh more than you!" Axel exclaimed.

"One week." Roxas reminded him, then he caught sight of his clothes.

"Shit! I forgot about the clothes!" Roxas groaned.

"Go get changed, if you need any help just call me in." Axel ordered, still filling the book bag. Roxas's locker was really close to a bathroom, thank God.

He took his clothes to the bathroom and got into his clothes without any problems. He combed his hair into proper geek place and returned to his locker, where Axel was waiting for him.

"Thanks. Axel, can you do me one more favor?" Roxas asked quietly.

"What?" Axel asked worriedly

"Pretend this never happened. The parents thing. I… I'll explain some other time." Roxas mumbled, looking down. Axel cupped Roxas's chin (earning him a wince from Roxas) and gently made Roxas look up.

"Sure. Now, give me a joke." Axel ordered.

"What?" Roxas was so confused.

"A joke! You've been all serious, I need a joke." Axel laughed at Roxas's face.

"Um… Three guys, stranded on a desert island, find a magic lantern containing a genie, who grants them each one wish. The first guy wishes he was off the island and back home. The second guy wishes the same. The third guy says 'I'm lonely. I wish my friends were back here.'" Roxas recites.

"Good enough. I give it a five. Now take your bag and be gone!" Axel said dramatically.

"Oof, this IS heavier than me." Roxas muttered.

"Do you want a ride? I've got a car…" Axel offered.

"No. Later!" He waved and took painful steps until he was home.

He arrived home, did homework until 1:00 AM, and went to bed. His parents didn't even talk to him.

He went to sleep thinking of his imaginary house of cards. It used be so tall, back in 6th grade. Now… it just kept falling over on him.

**Axel Pov (earlier)**

Axel watched Roxas leave and walked to the Spanish room. He figured that Namine would be a little freaked by Roxas being missing.

When she saw him outside she asked the teacher if she could go to the restroom. Esmeralda was nodded and continued to teach. Namine left the room and ran up to Axel.

"Do you know where Roxas is?" She asked breathlessly.

"He had to go home. Now breathe." Axel commanded. Namine took a huge breath.

"Where is he?" She worried

"Going home. I found him in the hallway coughing up blood. Seifer apparently was introducing himself." Axel muttered, leaving out the part about Roxas's parents.

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine. Areith and I made sure of it." Axel said confidently.

"Good, now I've got to get to class." Namine mumbled.


	5. Burning

***New chapter! Woo! I'm updating every Thursday from now on, every other day is WAAAAYYY too much for me to handle.***

**Roxas Pov**

The next day passed uneventfully. Roxas went to all his classes, talked to his friends, whatever. Axel shot him a glance when Roxas headed out to his study hall and Roxas laughed.

"Don't worry Axel, I won't get beat up again. This time I actually know where the library is!" Roxas joked. He rushed off after that, not really wanting to talk to Axel. Homeroom had been awkward enough.

He got to the library and sat at the computer desk. He sighed and typed in his yahoo account.

55 emails.

Oh boy.

He deleted all the spam and got to his friends' stuff. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were doing good. They were a little upset about Roxas not returning emails though.

Roxas told them about the whole "Parents Breaking Computer" thing. He read all their emails and tried to respond to them all.

Then he got to Sora's emails.

"Hey Roxas. Sorry I left like that, but I'll explain later. We've got to get you out of there! I know you don't want to leave, but… Roxas! You have to! You don't want to end up like your sister. I know you'll kill me for bringing her up, and I know that you blame me, but I'm trying to save you! Was last year NOTHING? I know we've had differences in the past, but come on! I NEED to get you out of there. If you die there… I won't even be able to go to your funeral. I've got a house. We're freakin 16. My friend is 18 (he just turned 18, he's a senior) and he bought the apartment. Now please, please, PLEASE email me! I miss you. I miss Cloud. Hell, I miss Xion! But hating me won't save you. It'll just make you join your sister faster. Email me."

Well, wasn't that pleasant.

Roxas sighed and stared at the screen for a solid ten minutes.

"Sora. I miss you too, mom broke the old computer, so I couldn't email. Sorry. I don't blame you anymore. I don't think I ever did. I mostly blamed myself. I can't tell you where we are, not right now at least. You'll try to take me away, but I have friends. They let me go to a public school. Cloud misses you too. He's not brainwashed, don't worry. When things get too bad again I'll call you. Just send me your number." Roxas typed. He felt sort of scared to send it.

Because he knew Sora was right.

But he wanted to be with his new friends, it had only been a few days, but… he felt… normal.

This was his clean slate. No siblings to remind him of his past, no friends who witnessed what happened.

Just him.

True, there were some reminders, his house, his parents, and everyone telling him to tell his brothers "Hi".

But no one gave him strange looks. No one's eyes filled with pity as he passed.

The closest thing to that here was Axel. And his eyes were confused, not sad.

Roxas hit send.

He let out a sigh. Hopefully Sora would be content with that and not be too pushy.

Roxas dug his homework from his bag and began scribbling out equations.

He didn't hear the footsteps behind him…

"Hello, Roxas." A high voice said, scaring the blonde. He turned to see who nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Oh hey Selphie." Roxas sighed. Selphie had gone to his old school, the private one. He was friends with her when he left here the first time.

"I heard about what happened to you in Twilight Town. Imagine, a teacher doing that to his student…" She mused in an emotionless voice. Roxas flinched at the memory.

"How did you…?" Roxas asked.

"Kairi told me. Because Sora told her. They're awfully close, you know." Selphie said, absently looking at his work.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about? Because I'd tell you somewhere else. I don't really want my friends to know about it… yet…" Roxas admitted, looking at the ground.

"Oh, I won't tell them. If you promise me one thing." Selphie was next to his ear now, whispering.

"What?"

"Meet me in the parking lot at lunch tomorrow. You won't regret it." She lightly licked the outside of his ear and he flinched and shuddered.

Gross.

Roxas gather his books and all but ran to the Spanish room. Namine was already there.

"Hey Roxas! What's wrong? You look like you saw a troll." Namine informed him.

"Worse. I saw Selphie." Roxas muttered.

"Selphie? She's not that bad…" Namine trailed off.

"She had a crush on me when I used to live here. Back then we went to the same private school. It seems like the crush carried over." Roxas said as he pulled out his homework and got it ready to give to Esmeralda.

"Oh. Well, it's not all that bad." Namine tried to reassure him.

"Yes. It is." Roxas groaned after he came back from handing his papers in.

"Why?" She asked.

"I… Shit. I can't tell you." Roxas mumbled.

"Please? It can't be that bad." Namine comforted him, patting his shoulder. He flinched.

"It is. I'll… I'll just tell you about why I'm scared of Selphie, okay? Then please don't ask any more questions." Roxas said with pleading eyes.

"I… Okay." Namine agreed.

"She said that if I didn't meet her in the parking lot for lunch, she'd tell everyone why I left my old school. And I don't want anyone to know. I just want to be left alone with all that stuff." Roxas confessed.

"Oh, so something bad happened, I take it?"

"Something horrible." Roxas muttered, looking at his book.

"Wh- okay…?" Namine was about to ask what happened, but remembered her deal.

"I'll tell you someday. Just not today." Roxas smiled softly at her. She returned the gesture and class started.

"Just a week till the party!" She reminded him as he left to get changed. He nodded and grabbed his stuff.

**Axel Pov**

Axel was giving Namine a lift home.

As she buckled her seatbelt Axel drove out of the parking lot and they sat in comfortable silence.

For a bit.

"Roxas was strange today, Ax. I think I need a guy's help figuring him out, cuz I'm confused." Namine said quietly.

"What'd he do?"

"He came into Spanish white as a sheet. So I asked him about it and he said he ran into Selphie. You know, that quiet chick? Anyways, he said that she used to have a crush on him and it seemed like she still did. And I knew he was leaving something out, so I finally got him to tell me. He said that Selphie told him to meet her in the parking lot or else she'd tell us something about Roxas." Namine summarized.

"What would she tell us?" Axel asked.

"Roxas said that it was why he had to come to this town. He said it was something horrible." Namine said quietly.

"Yeah, and did you notice how he always flinches when people touch him?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. I think something's seriously wrong." Namine worried.

"He'll be fine. If he needs any help he knows he can ask us for help if he needs it." Axel reassured her.

"Does he?"

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas lugged his book bag into his room and heaved it onto his bed. He still had tons of work to do, but he had nothing else to pass the time.

He was halfway through a worksheet and trying to ignore his growling stomach when his door burst open.

"ROXAS!" Was the deep-voiced yell from the top of the stairs.

Roxas shrank in his seat. His father was drunk.

"Get your ass up here!" The man demanded.

Roxas swallowed thickly and walked up the stairs.

"What did you do wrong today?" The man asked.

"Nothing?" Roxas asked.

A leather shoe connected with his empty stomach, almost sending him back down the stairs.

Wrong answer.

"You existed! You shouldn't have been born. I shouldn't have let her keep Cloud. Then I wouldn't have to deal with YOU." The man hissed, sending most of his beatings to the boy's arms, which Roxas had held over his face to protect himself.

Not really to protect himself, actually. He was only thinking of what his friends would say if they saw bruises on his face.

His eyes watered from the pain in his stomach.

"Are you crying?" the man asked.

"No." He coughed.

"Men don't cry!" The man yelled. He took the cigar that Roxas hadn't noticed out of his mouth.

Roxas realized too late, his father just wanted to vent his anger. And Roxas was a perfect target.

The man grinned a sadistic and slightly insane smile.

He yanked Roxas's sleeve upward. Roxas's eyes widened and he tried to get away. But his father just sat on his chest. The scrawny boy couldn't do anything against the man.

Roxas's father ground the cigar into Roxas's pale flesh.

Roxas's screams were so loud he worried that they could be heard from the police station.

It burned. Searing hot pain.

Roxas's father threw the blonde boy down the stairs, where he lay on the floor, crying.

Roxas cradled the arm with the other and shakily got to his legs.

He dug under the floorboards for a long ago stashed first aid kit.

He squeezed numbing medicine on the burn and sighed in relief at the lack of pain. He wrapped it in a bandage and thought about what he'd tell his friends.

Thank God that his father didn't get his right arm. He wouldn't be able to write.

Roxas spent the rest of the night struggling to do homework through the burning pain that seared through the medicine.

The next day he grabbed another long-sleeve shirt and hoodie. He stuffed them into his bag and left for the store.

He bought himself breakfast and lunch for the day. He absently rubbed his burned arm and winced.

Fuck.

He ate the chocolate bar and remembered where he was going to be for lunch that day. With Selphie.

Double Fuck.

He sighed and Demyx ran into his left arm, the burned arm. He suppressed a scream.

Triple Fuck.

"I'm sorry Roxas! Are you okay?" Demyx asked.

"I'm fine." Roxas lied.

"Let me see your arm." Demyx said.

Quadruple Fuck.

"I'm fine. I was just surprised." Roxas lied again.

Thankfully Demyx didn't push the subject.

But Larxene zapped it.

"Fuck!" Roxas yelled, his eyes watering.

"Holy shit! I didn't know it was up THAT high!" Larxene yelled.

Roxas's eyes watered as he clutched his arm.

Namine lifted his sleeve.

Fuck again.

She gasped when she undid the thin bandage to see the circular burn fresh on his arm.

"How?" She asked quietly.

"I-I walked into my dad. He was holding a cigar and I was wearing a short-sleeve shirt. I just didn't want you guys to feel bad for me." Roxas lied easily.

"Why didn't you tell me when I bumped into you?" Demyx asked.

"Like I said, it wasn't anything. I was just being stupid." Roxas said, re-bandaging his arm.

"Let's have Areith check it out." Namine suggested. Roxas nodded.

"My dad said it wasn't bad enough to go to the emergency room or anything." Roxas lied again.

Namine nodded and they walked the rest of the way to school in silence.

Roxas went into the office and told Areith the same lie he had fed his friends. Areith seemed to believe it and wrapped it up with some medicine on it. She didn't comment on the bruises, thinking they were the same ones from Seifer.

His house of cards was wobbling a LOT today, and he was sure that it wouldn't get stable any time soon.


	6. Selphie

***There aren't as many Axel point of views as there are Roxas.***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas got through most of the day without much else going wrong, besides the impending doom of Selphie. Axel looked suspicious when Roxas told him the cigar burn story, but Axel was probably still wondering why Roxas didn't want his parents to know about him getting beat up by Seifer.

But Roxas had to admit, he liked Axel best.

It was like Axel knew what Roxas was thinking. They had a bunch of stuff in common, and when Roxas had admitted to setting ants on fire as a kid Axel squeezed him in a bone-crushing hug, avoiding the burn of course.

Axel even conned Roxas into agreeing to pierce his ears someday.

And he still felt that familiar feeling of his stomach flipping over whenever he saw the redhead.

But He told himself again and again that it was his hunger talking.

But, too soon, came lunch.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Demyx asked when history class was over.

"Yeah, you look a little pale…" Larxene trailed off.

"I've gotta meet Selphie for lunch. See you" Roxas mumbled, dread weighing on his stomach like a rock.

Roxas wondered if the world was out to kill him on his first week at school.

He slowly made his way to the parking lot and looked around.

No sign of Selphie.

He sighed and sat on the back steps of the school.

Suddenly he saw the brown-haired girl. He got up and she came over.

"Hey Roxas." She smiled. Roxas attempted one in return.

"Hey."

She kept walking towards Roxas. He kept backing up.

Suddenly his back was against the wall.

"Uh… Selphie?" He said, confused.

"Roxas, you have no idea how long I've waited to do this." She purred, pressing her lips against the startled blonde boy's.

"Selphie…" Roxas was cut off by her lips against his again.

"Roxas? You aren't doing anything…" Selphie's brow scrunched up as she looked at him in confusion.

"Selphie, I don't like you like that… That's what I was trying to tell you." Roxas said, trying not to hurt the girl.

Her face turned angry. She crashed her lips against Roxas again. Roxas tried to push her away, but he heard a click.

She had taken a picture.

"I'm going to show this to… someone!" Selphie threatened. Roxas's eyes grew wide.

"Why?" He whispered.

"Because you broke my heart." Selphie said sadly.

"But… I didn't mean…" Roxas trialed off, but Selphie left.

"Fuck!" Roxas yelled.

The house of cards wasn't doing too good today.

"No thanks, I'm good." Came the sarcastic reply. Roxas turned his head to whoever was coming out the door behind him. Axel.

"How much did you see?" Roxas groaned.

"Just Selphie saying you broke her heart and you yelling 'Fuck!'." Axel replied.

"She kissed me, and I tried to stop her, so she kissed me again. Then I told her that I didn't like her, so she freaking kissed me AGAIN and took a picture and told me that she'd tell someone." Roxas said, sitting on the steps and putting his head in his hands.

"Who?" Axel asked.

"Hell if I know. She'll probably show my parents or something." Roxas thought out loud.

"What's with your parents?" Axel asked, still thinking about the thing with Seifer.

"It's nothing. I… just got bullied a lot at my old school, so they worry too much." Roxas explained, giving Axel a little bit of the truth. Roxas hated lying.

"Oh. Sorry. Is that what she was going to tell everyone?" Axel wondered.

"No."

"What-" Axel was about to ask. Roxas looked up at him.

"No. I- I'll tell you some other time." Roxas promised. Though he didn't intend to keep it.

"Okay."

A few moments of silence.

"Are you gonna come in for lunch or what? It's almost over." Axel said.

Roxas nodded and brought the food from the convenience store to the lunchroom.

"All you have are Cheetos?" Demyx asked, horrified.

"Yep. I'm not really hungry." Roxas answered, eating the cheesy goodness.

An argument about Disney characters broke out, distracting Demyx.

Roxas and Zexion were usually pretty quiet during lunch.

"You two never talk much, how come?" Marluxia asked, poking both boys.

"Huh?" They both asked, Roxas awakening from his daydream and Zexion looking up from his book.

The others seemed to think this was hilarious, bursting into laughed.

Roxas looked at Zexion, confused. Zexion just shrugged and they both went back to what they had been doing.

This of course made the other laugh even more.

"I think they were asking why we never talk." Zexion said to Roxas, not looking up from his book.

"Hmm? Oh! Uh… I just don't like talking much…" Roxas trailed off, scratching the back of his head as he thought about a better response.

"I'm in the best part of my book." Zexion said.

Roxas shrugged when he couldn't come up with another explanation and went back to his daydreams.

A few minutes later Axel poked the blonde boy.

"Rox, what're you thinking about?" He asked.

'_What'll happen when I get home.'_ Roxas thought.

"Nothing much. Kinda wondering about my old friends. Wondering where my brothers are, stuff like that." Roxas said.

"Oh, I never asked about them! What were they like?" Axel asked.

"Uh… Well, Olette was a bit of a nerd. She was the organized one, she's the one who made sure stuff happened on time. Pence was a little chubby and he liked ice cream. He was pretty laid back and watched the world hurry around him. Hayner was active, always planning a new scheme. He had this rivalry going on with this one guy… I don't remember his name…" Roxas scratched his head.

"What about your brothers?" Axel asked.

"Well, there's Cloud. He's in college. Uh, I used to hang out with him a lot when we were kids, but when we moved to Twilight Town we kinda… got more close to our friends, you know? My other brother ran away last summer." Roxas said.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Axel apologized.

"Why? It's not like it was your fault." Roxas laughed.

"Lunch's over, dorks." Larxene said as she got up. Axel had an offended look on his face. Roxas laughed and caught up to the redhead and the tall blonde girl.

"I protest to that comment, Larxene. I am certainly not a whale's penis." Axel said loudly.

Namine and Roxas burst into giggles while Marluxia and Demyx had identical confusion etched into their faces. Zexion merely walked away.

"Well, you're certainly the size of one." Larxene snapped back.

Namine hooked her arm through Roxas's and led him to the art room.

Rapunzel had declared Roxas as a draw-er and had presented him with colored pencils and oil pastels, saying that he had to that at least three good pieces before the end of the quarter.

Namine had been declared awesome at everything, so Rapunzel required two paintings, a drawing, and one "other" thing by the end of the quarter.

Roxas sighed and started sketching. He was letting his hand have full control, not really planning out a design.

He still only had a general shape by the end of the class.

And he had no idea what he was drawing.

He said his goodbye to Namine and headed for the library.

Selphie was sitting on the desk that he had sat by the day before.

Roxas walked past her and plopped his books down by a vacant table. A huge man was seen lurking around the shelves. Roxas figured that was Mr. Beast.

Selphie walked over to his table and sat on his homework. Roxas looked up.

"Selphie?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"Can you get off my homework?"

"Nah, it's comfy."

"I kinda have to finish it."

"You're always doing homework, Roxas."

"Well yeah, I missed most of this quarter."

"I wish you'd pay attention to me."

"I'm paying attention to you now."

"You know what I mean. You never noticed me at our old school."

"Yeah I did, you were my friend, along with Tidus."

"Then why didn't you keep in touch?"

"I was ten."

"I showed the picture to the principal. She's sending it home to both our parents." Selphie said cheerfully.

"Selphie, I liked you as a friend and right now, well you're being a bitch. I didn't do anything, you cornered me and kissed me. How did I do anything wrong?" Roxas asked calmly.

"You didn't like me back. If you did none of this would've happened, everything would be better." Selphie sniffed.

"You know, Sora was right. All the kids at the private school were stuck up snobs. You're mad at me because you forced yourself at me and I don't like you? So you're bringing parents and the principal into it? That's why I didn't stay as your friend." Roxas snapped. He removed Selphie from his homework, shoved it into his bag and went to find a quiet place to study.

Which is why he ended up in Areith's office.

"Hey Areith, is it okay if I study here? This girl is bugging me." Roxas asked.

"Sure. Is it Selphie? She was talking to the principal about you before…" Areith trailed off. Roxas groaned.

"I thought that was just an empty threat…" He let his head fall into his arms on the table.

"Well, what happened?" Areith asked.

"I used to go to school with her, right? And she had a crush on me, but I thought she was just my friend. So yesterday she was talking to me in the library and she told me to meet her in the parking lot today at lunch. So I did and she kissed me and I tried to stop her and I told her that I didn't like her, so she took a picture of her kissing me and said she was going to show it to someone." Roxas explained, his voice muffled by his arms.

"So… why the principal?" Areith asked.

"She said that everything was all my fault because I didn't like her back, and that if I liked her back everything would get better." Roxas sighed.

"Well then. I can tell this to the principal and he might not tell your parents. He'll just tell Selphie's." Areith said slowly. Roxas looked up at her with relief in his eyes.

"You'd do that?" Roxas asked happily.

"Of course."

"Thanks Areith!" Roxas smiled. He grabbed his work out of his bag and Areith patted his shoulder. Roxas flinched.

"Any time." She smiled as she went back to her desk.

Roxas FINALLY finished all of his math. He said his goodbye to Areith and went off to see if Cid was in his room.

After he turned in his work he wandered around, waiting for class to be over. Then he spotted Seifer in the halls.

"Chicken wuss! How was our last talk?" Seifer asked. Roxas flinched.

"…" Roxas said nothing and walked faster, going away from them.

"Aww, did I hurt the little wuss's feelings?" Seifer mocked, easily catching up.

"Seifer, how about you go after that new brunette girl, Selphie? She was telling me that she had a thing for you." Roxas said, quickly thinking up a plan.

"What?" Seifer stopped in his tracks.

"Yeah, she kissed me to get me in trouble, then told me she had a thing for you. She said she did it to make you jealous." Roxas lied.

"…But she said she didn't like me." Seifer mumbled. Roxas grinned at his luck, he had hit a sensitive spot.

"Well of course she likes you, even I know that." Roxas said. He had reached the Spanish room.

"Uh…" Roxas left Seifer standing in shock as he walked in and sat next to Namine.

"What's with Seifer?" She asked, having noticed him outside the door.

"I just killed two birds with one stone, is all." Roxas smiled and got to his homework.


	7. Movies

***Hey guys! It's Roxy. Contrary to popular belief, my name isn't from my penname "Xoxoroxas", but from my old favorite song, "Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge. Just wanted to clear that up. Poor Roxas, his week is crappy and it's only the first one at his new school. On the plus side he has a party to look forward to next week, right? …Right? Oh, and that whale penis thing from the last chapter is something my friend Reese says all the time… ALL the time. Anyways, on with the show!***

**Roxas Pov**

Friday turned out to be a suspiciously good day. Everything went well at school, Roxas talked to his friends, no signs of Selphie or Seifer, and no one asked him about his food at lunch. Things were going pretty good.

Except for the fact that it WAS Friday, which meant two days at home.

With his parents.

Locked in his room.

This was going to suck.

But, Roxas maintained a happy demeanor throughout the day, listening to his friends jokes and checking to see if he had an email from Sora when he had his free hour.

And he did.

"Roxas

Thank God I found you! I… won't track you down just yet, but don't let it go for too long, okay? At least… here's my number (555-9876) just call if anything bad happens, kay? And if they get too bad call the cops. Are you using our real names? Or more fake names from mom and dad? Please don't get hurt… where is Cloud anyways? Isn't he in college? Keep me updated!"

Roxas shook his head, smiling as he heard Sora's voice in his head as he read it.

God, he missed Sora.

"Sora

Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I'll keep your number, it's not really hard to memorize, is it? Yeah, for once they're using our real names. And Cloud's in college, he even has a girlfriend! Her name's Tifa. Belle, my English teacher, told me to tell you 'hi'. What's that all about? And you better still be going to school, or else I'll have to find you and kick your butt."

Roxas smiled as he hit the send button and logged off his email.

The rest of his day was pretty normal too, even when he got home his parents just ignored him.

This day was pretty good.

The next morning… not so much.

"Roxas!" Roxas awoke to his mother's shrill shriek.

"Yes Mother?" Roxas asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sitting up.

Only to be knocked down again by his mother's hand.

"What is this that I hear of a girlfriend?" She hissed.

"Uh… Selphie? She's not my girlfriend… she just forced herself at me. But I told her that I didn't like her and all." Roxas explained.

"You don't like her? Are you a fag like your brother? That devilish sinner must've tainted you!" The woman yelled, backhanding Roxas.

"No! It's just… she was being slutty and stuff." Roxas mumbled.

"Roxas, you've got no brain! You turned down the only girl who could possibly EVER love you! And it's because she was too willing? She even knew of what had happened to you, as I take it!" His mother yelled slapping him again, "I thought no one could love you after THAT! I certainly didn't." She sneered, wrinkling her nose at him.

"But…" Roxas began. His mother punched his arm. The woman had surprising strength, but always hit him where it wouldn't be noticeable the next week in school.

"You are so low, nothing will ever love you again! No one does now and nothing ever will! I tried to save your soul, I really did. I worked since the day you were born! I knew you'd turn out this way and you did! You never listened to anything I said, and neither did your brother! He turned out gay! And he was such a good little boy…" His mother trailed off, twisting Roxas's arm painfully.

Roxas cried out in pain as she hit the cigar burn. She laughed and hit it again.

"Can't you see that I'm trying to save you? Now you remember this! Never forget that I could do the same to you as I did your sister!" She shrieked. And with that, she left.

Roxas was left once again cradling his arm, huddled on the floor. He heard the door slam twice, announcing that his father had left for the bar and his mother to church.

Roxas snuck up the stairs and peeked around the corners. Looked like they'd be gone for a while. Roxas's mother had a bible study thing after the mass and after bible study there was ANOTHER mass, so he was clear.

And his father would pass out at the bar, like always. But today Roxas had a plan. And he was going to stick to it. Usually he got freaked out whenever he went upstairs, but all he had to do today was run up, then run down.

Simple, right? 

Right?

He tip-toed through the doorway and went to the living room. This is where things got dangerous. If anyone was home or driving home, they'd be sure to see him. He glanced out the window and was scared shitless to see a fluff of red hair peeking up at him.

And the boy who the red hair was attached to grinning at his surprised face.

Roxas walked to the door and opened it to see the redhead.

"Axel! What the hell?" he demanded, his stomach fluttering. He ignored it.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the movies with me! I'm buying." Axel said, tempting Roxas.

"I can't. I'm grounded." Roxas replied.

"Are your parents home?"

"No."

"Will they be home soon?"

"…No."

"Then you can come!" Axel exclaimed.

"I… I really can't…" Roxas stuttered.

"Why not?" The redhead asked with puppy eyes.

"Don't you dare use those on me, they won't work." Roxas warned.

"Fine, you leave me no choice. I'll have to kidnap you!" Axel exclaimed, grabbing the boy around the waist. Roxas's eyes went wide and he flinched violently out of his grasp.

"Nope. I might go some other day, but my parents want me to clean the house for Cloud. He's got a few days off of school and he's coming over tonight." Roxas smiled apologetically.

"But your house can't be that messy!" Axel whined.

"No. I can't go, Axel. Plus if my parents found out that I left when I was grounded… Just not in the middle of the day. Sometimes my dad just drives around downtown." Roxas explained.

"But…" Axel was cut off by Roxas slowly closing the door.

"Sorry Ax, maybe later." Roxas said and the door closed.

"Damn it!" Roxas heard Axel curse on the other side of the door.

Roxas sighed and went back to the living room for the phone. It was wireless, so he ran back down the stairs and slammed the basement door. He's clean later… first he had to talk to someone.

He dialed Sora's number.

Ring…ring…

"Riku… I know you miss me… but it's my day off… just let me sleep!" He heard Sora's groggy voice on the other end.

"Sora, it's like ten. And Saturday. Shouldn't you be having 'adventures' or something?" Roxas asked. He heard Sora squeak.

"Roxas?" Came the astonished question.

"Yep. Missed you bro." Roxas said quietly.

"Missed you too." Sora's voice said, sounding a little choked.

"You okay? You sound a little weird…" Roxas trailed off.

"I wish I could hug you right now!" Sora yelled into the phone. Roxas laughed and shook his head.

"Well you can't. I've gotta clean, Sor. Cloud's coming over tomorrow and I'm grounded." Roxas said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Okay… wait… They grounded you on the weekend?" Sora yelled into the phone. Roxas held it away from his face.

"Yeah Sor. They've done it before, what's stopping them now?" Roxas asked.

"When was the last time you ate?" Sora demanded.

"Uh…"

"Tell me!"

"Yesterday I had some Pringles at lunch…" Roxas mumbled.

"Damn Roxas, they're gonna kill you!" Sora yelled again.

"Sora, I know that. Just give me some time, okay? I just want my clean slate, though Selphie's pretty much scribbling all over it…" Roxas grumbled.

"Selphie? That girl that Kairi talks to?" Sora asked.

"Yeah. It seems that Kairi told Selphie about what happened last year and Selphie's trying to make me like her or else she'll tell everyone. And somehow mother found out and was telling me that I just missed out on the only person that would ever love me. She said that she never loved me." Roxas said, bitterness fully evident in his voice.

"That's not true Rox! I love you… as a brother and all." Sora said awkwardly.

"You know, I think Riku was a good influence on you. You knew Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie before and you were an ass, but as soon as you met Riku you were your normal, happy self." Roxas thought out loud.

"Glad you think so, cuz as soon as I'm 18 we're getting married." Sora giggled.

"…He proposed?" Roxas asked. Riku wasn't a very… expressive person.

"No dummy! I have plans involving drinking and Vegas." Sora said deviously. Roxas laughed.

"Oh, by the way, Mother and Father still think you're an unholy abomination that deserves to die. Just thought I'd let you know." Roxas said.

"Good, cuz I think the same of them. God, I've been a horrible big brother." Sora groaned.

"Hey, you're only a few minutes older!" Roxas complained.

"That still gives me big brother rights. Tell Cloud I say hi!" Sora said as he hung up. Roxas shook his head and followed suite. He crept back to the living room and hung the phone back up. He started to clean up and soon his eyes drifted to the big window in the front of the living room.

And he swore to God that he was going to kill Axel.

He opened the window.

"Axel! The fuck!" He hissed.

"Well, you said maybe later…" The redhead smirked.

"Fine, you want me to go that bad, then help me clean and we can go." Roxas hissed, clearly annoyed.

About half an hour of cleaning followed, during which Roxas showed Axel where everything in his entire house went.

They were cleaning in separate rooms when Roxas heard Axel call out.

"Roxas… what's this…?"

Oh shit, what did he find?

Roxas walked into the room to find a blood-splattered uniform shirt in the dirty laundry. He gulped.

"Hell if I know." He responded. Just then he heard the door open.

"Shit!" he hissed.

He grabbed Axel's wrist and pulled him harshly down to his room in the basement. He looked around frantically until he found a place.

"Don't make a single sound." He hissed to the confused redhead. He pushed the boy into a very small closet. Thank God the basement was soundproof, otherwise Axel would hear something bad.

Roxas ran up the stairs.

**Axel Pov**

The blonde ran up the stairs after telling Axel not to make any noise.

Axel couldn't hear a Goddamn thing. He sighed.

This was all his fault for trying to get Roxas to sneak out.

But what was with that bloodstained shirt? It was one of the shirts that Roxas wore home every day…

So something must've happened on the way home or something.

He heard a crash from above and held his breath.

The basement door opened and he heard something fall down the stairs and some laughter.

The basement door slammed shut and Roxas slowly opened the closet door.

"Hey Ax. I kinda slipped down the stairs." Roxas winced, rubbing his arm.

"Are you okay? I heard laughter…" Axel said worriedly.

"Oh, that was my dad. He forgot his lighter, so he came home to get it. And he told me to do my homework and I slipped down the stairs. Don't worry, I do it all the time." Roxas grinned. Axel shrugged.

"Are we done cleaning?" He asked.

"Just let me throw some clothes in the washing machine and we can go." Roxas said, walking up the stairs.

A few minutes later they were on their way to the movies.

Axel looked over at the blonde and laughed.

"What?" Roxas asked, confused.

"You look like a little emo. You've got your hoodie over most of your face and stuff. How huge is that hood anyways? It goes over your whole face!" Axel laughed.

Roxas grinned and pulled it further over his face until the tip of the hood was touching his chest.

"Axel! I'm coming to eat your soul!" He said, holding his arms out like a zombie.

"Ahh!" Axel fake screamed, running. Roxas ran after him.

"Whoa!" Axel said, coming to an abrupt stop. Roxas ran into his back, sending them both flying forward.

"What the hell?" Roxas yelled.

"Stop sign."

"I should probably take the hood off, shouldn't I?" Roxas asked.

"It might be a good idea." Axel agreed as Roxas took the hood off his eyes.

"Hey!" Roxas said, waving to Axel.

"Hi! Okay, what movie do you want to watch? There's a bunch playing right now…" Axel said, looking at the signs of the movies.

"Hmm… I don't know what any of these are about… maybe that Harry Potter one? I read the books, but I've only seen the first movie." Roxas said.

"You… are joking, right?" Axel asked in disbelief.

"Nope. I haven't been to a movie in forever." Roxas said.

"Everyone's seen the Harry Potter movies!" The redhead exclaimed.

"Well not me."

"I must educate you in the ways of the Potter!" Axel announced, dragging Roxas into the building.

"How long is this anyways?" Roxas asked as they sat in the theatre watching previews.

"No idea."

And with that they watched the movie in silence.

They walked out of the movie theatre, shading their eyes from the sun and talking.

"That was so sad when Dobby died!" Axel said loudly, pretending to cry.

"Psh, it was three times worse in the book." Roxas said, rolling his eyes.

"You didn't like it?"

"No, I liked it, but I'm worried about my parents being home. That movie was long."

"Oh right. Let's go!" Axel announced, walking with the blonde in silence until they reached his house.

"Wish me luck." Roxas sighed.

"Good luck, blondie!" The redhead laughed as Roxas walked in.

**Roxas Pov**

Thank God.

Roxas's parents weren't home.

He ran to his room where he found something very surprising.

Cloud was sitting on his bed.

"Cloud?" Roxas asked, running down the stairs.

"Hey Roxas!" Cloud said, sitting up and hugging Roxas.

"Sora says hi." Roxas said.

"Tell him I said the same. How are Mother and Father? Are you okay here? Cuz I can take you with me to my apartment." Cloud offered.

"Nah, I'll live. I've got friends here. Though Mother and Father think they're horrible sinners and that I shouldn't be seen around such filth." Roxas said in a monotone voice.

"Rox, you have to get out of here." Cloud sighed.

"I know, and I will, just give me some time, okay? I want to be normal for a bit." Roxas smiled.

"Aww, do you have a crush?" Cloud teased.

"No! But I so have a chick who's blackmailing me." Roxas complained.

"What?"

Roxas explained the whole 'Selphie Thing'.

"That's fucked up Roxas. Call me if anything else happens. And here's my email." Cloud said, handing Roxas a business card.

"'Strife Delivery'?" Roxas asked, looking at the card.

"Me and Tifa started doing that stuff for extra cash." Cloud explained, scratching his neck.

"ROXAS!" Came a yell from upstairs.

"That would be Mother." Roxas grumbled, walking up the stairs.

"I'll try to distract her, Rox." Cloud said, joining him on the stairs.

It seemed that Roxas was wrong, maybe his house of cards would last a while.


	8. No Hold

***Hey! It's Roxy. I personally liked the last chapter a lot. Roxas got to be all normal! Ah, but it'll all come crashing down on him soon, just wait. Plus Cloud appeared! I like him, he's awesome. But he's a little out of character. Okay, a lot out of character. I'd like to give a shout-out to AkuRokuSupport, or whatever the name was. I tried to reply to your review, but the email didn't have a link to your profile. Thanks for reviewing! Okay, you know the drill. Review, enjoy!***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas and Cloud climbed the stairs to see their furious mother. Her eyes widened as she glanced at Cloud, but she turned her attention on Roxas instead.

"What. Is. This?" She hissed, holding an earring in front of Roxas's face.

Well shit, that's Axel's.

"Uh… this girl dropped it in the hall and I couldn't find her before the day ended, so I left it in my pocket and must have dropped it." Roxas lied, thinking up a lie as fast as he could.

"What was the girl's name?" The woman seethed.

"Namine." Roxas said quietly, remembering that Namine had pierced ears.

"I'm going to find her in the directory." Roxas's mother threatened.

"No, she's my friend. I can just give it back to her on Monday." Roxas begged.

"Fine. But if I find out that you're lying and you stole that or something… you'll regret the day you were born." She hissed, slapping his arm.

"Yes Mother."

"Now Cloud, go to your room. I'll call everyone to dinner as soon as I'm done making it." She said.

"Kay Mother." Cloud nodded.

When their mother had left for the kitchen Roxas and Cloud walked back downstairs.

"Whose is that?" Cloud asked, pointing to the earring.

"My friend Axel's. He has tons of earrings. He came over today to kidnap me to a movie. But I ended up making him clean up a little." Roxas smiled.

"Well, Mother and Father will hate him for sure, from the sound of it." Cloud said.

"He'd hate them too." Roxas mumbled.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to tell him." Roxas said quietly.

Cloud gasped.

"I-I don't know if you should or not, Rox. What if he just ends up ignoring you or something?" Cloud asked.

"He wouldn't. He was friends with Xion."

"Oh. I honestly don't know what to tell you. I told Tifa, but only because I wanted to know if she'd reject me or not. And look! We're getting married! But, I've been protecting them for so long… I don't know." Cloud shook his head.

"Hey Cloud? Can you sneak me some stuff from dinner when you're done? I'm grounded." Roxas asked.

"That reminds me! I brought my bags down here before…" Cloud trailed off, looking for his bags.

"Here! Okay. I present you with… a backpack filled with canned crap and two new can openers!" Cloud announced, finding a black backpack inside one of his suitcases.

"Well, it's what you always get me." Roxas shrugged, taking it and hiding the bag beneath the floorboards.

"That's because you always need it, Rox. Please consider coming to my apartment." Cloud begged.

"I have considered it. I also considered going to Sora and Riku's place. I'm staying here until something bad happens. You know something bad WILL happen. It always does. Now go upstairs so she doesn't yell at you too." Roxas said as he pulled his homework out of his backpack.

"Kay. But you know, they really can't do anything to me." Cloud mused as he walked up the stairs.

"Why?"

"Because now I'm not a defenseless kid. Plus I could probably take them." Cloud smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. Remember that Areith and Zack want to see you. And Sephiroth's back in town if you want to talk to him too." Roxas said as he read about chemicals.

Cloud nodded and left the room. An hour later the front door opened with a loud CRASH.

"Wife! Food!" Yelled Roxas's father. It was weird that he yelled so loud that Roxas could hear it. The walls were soundproof.

"Roxas! Cloud! Get your asses up here NOW!" Roxas's mother yelled. Roxas sighed.

He ran up the stairs and quietly entered the kitchen. Cloud and his father were already sitting. His mother pointed to his empty seat.

"Sit, idiot! We're not going to wait for you!" She hissed, dishing up the food.

Roxas sat and looked up at Cloud. He shrugged and they both waited for their food.

Roxas's mother piled food onto he plate, then her husband's. She put a little bit on Cloud's, and gave Roxas some peas.

Well, peas were better than nothing.

Roxas ate quickly as his father glared at Cloud.

"Son, you're not like your brother, are you?" he finally asked.

"Which one?" Cloud responded.

"Uh… Sora."

"I'm very much like Sora. We both have great friends, we both have blue eyes. We both email each other. We both like the same music…" Cloud trailed off. Roxas's father punched his arm.

"That's not what I asked, you little shit!" The man yelled.

"Yes that IS what you asked, _Father_. Now say what you mean." Cloud demanded.

Roxas stifled a gasp. When had Cloud gotten so… awesome?

Cloud was usually the one to help the others, to take whatever their parents said without question, and to protect their parents. Now… He still helped them, but what about the other two things?

"Are you gay?" His father asked.

"In that respect, I am nothing like Sora. I've got a girlfriend and I proposed. But that doesn't mean that Sora's a bad person for liking guys!" Cloud said calmly.

"He is not a person, He's an abomination!" Cloud's father yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"I clearly can't tell you what to think, but remember this, _Father_, you have no hold over me. I'm an adult and I am in charge of myself. You are just some man who's trying to force his opinion on me. You can't do anything to make me listen to what you say, and you can't make me do anything I don't want to." Cloud said almost lazily as Roxas shrunk in his seat and their father's face got steadily redder and redder.

"I have no hold over you, huh?" their father said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Nope."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I did this!" He yelled, grabbing Roxas's arm and pinching the flesh where the cigar burn was. He grabbed Roxas's still sore skin and twisted it as hard as he could, making Roxas cry out in pain and his eyes water.

'I can't cry. Cloud was brave before, he has to stay that way. If I cry he'll give in.' Roxas repeated to himself as his father actually tore through the fragile skin and he started to bleed.

"No!" Cloud cried, getting up from his chair. Their father threw Roxas to the ground where he cradled the arm again.

"What happened to 'you have no hold over me'?" Cloud's father mocked, leaving the table for the TV in the living room. Roxas's mother laughed and followed him.

"Rox, are you okay?" Cloud asked worriedly, helping his brother up.

"Fine. Happens all the time." Roxas whispered, grabbing a paper napkin from the table and using it to soak up some of his blood.

"That's not a good thing Rox." Cloud sighed as he helped him to the basement stairs.

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Cloud. That was really brave, braver than anything I've ever done." Roxas smiled weakly.

"No, you were brave when Xion was… you know." Cloud reminded him.

"Yeah, but she's not here now."

"You still miss her, don't you?"

"Every day."

"Sorry, that's not helping. What do you need me to do?" Cloud asked.

"To be honest, I just want my friends to not freak out on Monday when they end up seeing this. I think Axel already suspects something's up, and I KNOW Namine does." Roxas sighed.

"You should tell them."

"I know… It's just… I don't know… I don't want to. I want them to think I'm normal for as long as possible." Roxas said quietly as Cloud wrapped his arm and put some painkillers on it.

"You're running low on first aid stuff. I'll buy you some more when I visit Areith and Zack later." Cloud said.

"I think Areith knows. Can you tell her, Cloud? Pretty please? Cuz I need someone who can fix me up when I go to school all hurt." Roxas asked with his newly learned puppy eyes.

"Okay, I was going to anyways. It'll be a shocking confession that no one expected! Drama! Suspense! Me and Zack crying like little girls while Areith tries to calm us down!" Cloud joked.

"Send me a picture. I think I can take it from here. I'm gonna go to sleep, kay?" Roxas asked.

"You want me to stay down here?" Cloud asked as Roxas crawled under his thin blankets.

"Nah, you can go upstairs. I'll be fine."

"Okay. Later Rox!" Cloud walked up the stairs and closed the door gently behind him.

Roxas dug under his shirt and found what he was looking for.

A green star outlined in silver. He knew every centimeter of it. He clutched it in his hand until morning.

When he woke up it was outlined on his hand.

He shoved it under his shirt again and got changed, knowing that his mother would be down any second to force him to church.

As he was brushing his hair she burst into the room, slapped him, and told him to hurry up. Then she left again.

A few minutes later, everyone minus Cloud was ready to go. Cloud was picking up Areith and Zack, seeing as they were Catholic too.

Soon they arrived at the church. Roxas's mother and father sat in the front and banished him to the back, saying he was too filthy to be in God's presence.

At least that meant that Roxas didn't really have to pay attention.

As they entered the church Roxas's parents scurried off to the front while Roxas looked for a seat where no one would see him doing homework in the back. He still had a bunch left and only today to do it. He shouldn't have gone to that movie with Axel.

"Roxas!" Cloud whisper-called. Roxas looked up and found his brother and his friends. Plus they were sitting far away from their parents. Bonus.

"Hey Areith! How're you Zack?" Roxas asked as he sat.

"We're pretty good. Cloud's gonna hang out with us later, you wanna come too?" Zack asked. Zack was really cool and always treated Roxas like an adult.

"Nah, I've got tons of make-up work I still have to do." Roxas complained, pulling out his notebook from his bag. Zack grinned and nodded.

"You and your brother are so nerdy. Anyways…" Roxas tuned Zack out as he talked to Cloud, instead focusing on his homework.

"So Roxas, how do you like Hollow High?" Areith asked suddenly.

"Oh, um… It's okay. I've got my friends; you know I'm friends with Axel and Namine. Plus there's Zexion, Demyx, Marluxia, and Larxene." Roxas said.

"Those are good kids. Especially Demyx and Zexion. You might want to watch Larxene though, she's a little… rough with her friends." Areith said slowly. Roxas laughed quietly.

"You got that right. She zapped my burn on the way to school."

"Well, I'm sure she probably didn't mean to on purpose…" Areith trailed off.

"You never know with her. But it's funny how she and Demyx fight." Roxas laughed again. Areith smiled softly.

"Good to hear. You better get going on your homework though, you should really get caught up."

"Kay." Roxas said as he turned back to his book.

**Cloud Pov**

After church got out Cloud said goodbye to Roxas and went to Areith and Zack's place. It was a small apartment and he flopped on the couch as soon as he got there. His stomach was killing him, nervousness eating it.

"What's up Cloud?" Zack asked.

"Hmm?"

"You heard me, you always get that weird expression when you're worried."

"Well, I kinda am." Cloud admitted.

"Bout what?"

"Roxas asked me to tell you and Areith something last night, well mostly Areith, and I don't really want to." Cloud said quietly.

"You don't have to." Areith assured him softly.

"Yeah." Zack said with some difficulty, keeping his curiosity to himself.

"I kinda have to now. Zack'll never let me hear the end of it." Cloud laughed weakly.

"Yeah, well…" Zack smiled sheepishly.

"So what is it?" Areith asked.

"Uh… you guys remember how I came over to Areith's place in 8th grade with that gaping cut on my back?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah…" Zack trailed off.

"And how I said it was a mirror shard and it was an accident?"

"Yeah…"

The mirror shard part was true. But it wasn't an accident. It was my father." Cloud admitted softly.

"OhmyGod." Areith gasped.

"And the cuts on my arms were my mother. And that time I passed out… I wasn't starving myself. That was what grounded meant." Cloud said as he looked at the floor, unwilling to look up at his best friends.

"So… is that why Roxas…?" Areith trailed off.

"Most likely. If it has to do with Roxas being hurt or something, yeah. It's my parents." Cloud admitted, eyes still on the floor.

"We have to call the cops!" Zack exclaimed.

"No. Just… Roxas made me promise to give him some time to be 'normal' with his friends. He just wants to pretend to be normal. Believe me, the second he got out of there I'd adopt him, but he wants to be left alone. He wants to have friends more than anything, and I can't take that away from him. Areith, you read his file. You know what happened to him last year. He said he'd call me or Sora the second anything happened. Just… keep me updated about his school stuff, okay Areith?" He asked, looking up for the first time.

"Of course, but… why didn't you tell us?" she asked.

"You have no idea what they're like. They tell you all this horrible stuff that they'll do to you if you tell anyone. I didn't even tell Tifa until about a month ago, and we're getting married." Cloud said bitterly.

"But of course they're lying." Zack reassured him.

"They're not, that's why it's terrifying. Do you think that someone cruel enough to cut their children's wrists and starve them, then blame it on the same child will be afraid to torture and kill them? No. They're not. They wouldn't be able to get me, and probably not Sora either because he took some fighting classes with his friend, but what about Roxas? He's starved, he's really light. He took fighting classes, but if he's wounded and weak? He doesn't stand a chance. And they use him against me, now that they know that they can't bully me like they used to. Yesterday I was yelling at my father, so he grabbed Roxas by this burn that he had on his arm and twisted it until it bled. And then my mother laughed." Cloud said bitterly, remembering dinner the night before and how Roxas kept sinking in his seat.

Then it occurred to him. Roxas knew that was going to happen, yet he didn't warn Cloud.

He keeps getting hurt and calls it nothing.

He's been getting more rebellious against their parents.

That means he could get majorly hurt for doing something rebellious, but not tell anyone.

"Areith, just call him to your office every few days to make sure he's not dying or anything, okay?" Cloud asked.

"Okay. Now, you were saying something about marrying Tifa?"

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas's mother and father didn't do anything too bad to him that day.

Just, you know… No food and being banished to the basement.

Not all that bad though. He finished his homework by a reasonable time and actually got some sleep.

For once.

Cloud came down to his room when he had gotten home and told Roxas that he had told Areith and Zack about their parents.

'Yay! Now I know that I won't die at school!' Roxas though sarcastically to himself.

He wished Monday would be better.

If only.

He thought of Axel and smiled to himself, then frowned.

'I don't have time for this type of thing.' He thought to himself, 'Plus when Mother and Father find out, and they WILL find out, I'll be dead.'

They were too shocked to react to Sora, but Roxas had nowhere to run. Cloud and Sora were out of the city and he didn't know his way around all that well.

Roxas sighed and let his head fall to his desk, his homework already in his bag.

'This sucks, I should just tell them.' Roxas thought to himself.

But then the voices of his parents came back to him, along with memories of pain.

"_If you EVER tell ANYONE" Roxas's mother began, twisting the boy's arm painfully, "I will stop at nothing to find and kill you. And no one would believe you, what's your word against mine? Nothing." She laughed, kneeing him in the stomach._

Roxas flinched at the memory and sighed.

Why couldn't he be normal? Like Axel or Namine. If he was like them… He'd be fine. He could do whatever he wanted and talk to his friends without constantly looking over his shoulder for his parents.

He could forget about Xion.

'No, I can't think about her. If Mother and Father come down and see me crying they'll kill me. Or burn me again. I-I can't think about her.' He told himself, trying to think of something else.

So he thought about his house of cards. That had been getting a lot of attention from him recently. He had been knocking it over and building it quickly. At home his parents threw cards to the floor, at school he built them up with his friends and took a few off himself by his weird behavior.

'Why am I even building it anymore? I don't need it.' Roxas thought to himself.

He had tried to take his own life once, only about two cards were left that day.

They had never all been gone.

And that was the day he met Olette.

But he couldn't eve think about his old friends anymore, that brought back… other memories.

He had no other choice, Roxas pulled out a book and began to read.


	9. The Sleepover

***Hey! New chapter! Reese says hi! You know the drill, enjoy! Happy AkuRoku Day! I love this chapter so much.***

**Roxas Pov**

On Monday Roxas followed his routine.

Get dressed, go out, go to gas station, get dressed, go to school.

When he got to school Areith called him down to her office and told him that she knew. He nodded and let her check his burn. She cleaned it up and he went to class.

In other words, today was boring.

And Roxas loved it.

At least, until lunch.

He was walking to the lunchroom, when he was suddenly pulled into the boys' bathroom. A very un-manly squeak escaped him as he was pulled in, and he jerked away, but he smiled when he realized that it was Axel.

"Hey Ax." He said, willing his heart to stop racing.

"Hey Rox. Uh… Everyone else already knows this… but Namine told me that I should tell you… I'm gay." He blurted.

"Fuck." Roxas stated. He stared at Axel blankly.

Was that why Axel was so nice to him? Because he liked him?

Oh no, not again. Nope this wasn't happening to Roxas again.

Plus what would happen if his parents found out?

They'd kill him.

For real.

So Roxas walked into a stall and locked the door.

And he sat and tried to straighten out what was going on inside his head.

"Rox?" Axel called.

"Yeah?"

"You're not… mad or anything, are you?" Axel asked worriedly.

"No." Roxas came back out of the stall and looked up at the redhead.

"What is it then?"

"Well, my parents kicked my brother out because he was gay. Well, he ran away, but they would have. They keep telling me he's an abomination and stuff, but he was my twin. He was my best friend. So, I really don't know what to think. I just know that my parents, especially my mom, would kill me if they knew my best friend was gay." Roxas admitted.

"I'm your best friend?" Axel asked.

"Well duh, who would you think it would be, Larxene?" Roxas joked.

"No, I'd think it'd be one of your old friends."

"Well, they're great and all, but not really… attentive. It's like the world stands still to them. And everything exists in that little bubble of Twilight Town. And it's great and all that they think the world if perfect, but… it's not realistic." Roxas shrugged.

"But still, not the point. Why would your parents kill you if I'm gay?" Axel asked.

"Well, they saw you outside the school before and forbid me from ever talking to you. But I thought you guys were nice enough on my first day, so I'd keep talking to you. They said you were obviously satanic because of your looks. My mom's a Jesus freak and my dad goes with whatever she says." Roxas admitted, looking at the floor.

"What's wrong with how I look?" Axel demanded.

"Take a look in the mirror! You _do_ look kinda scary, but I like it. I know you're just a big softy." Roxas joked.

"Psh, as if." Axel said, waving his hand.

"So, are we still friends?" Axel asked.

"Of course. I just… had to remember not to think the way they want me to anymore. I kinda hate them, but I can't really do anything about it until I'm 18. I could go live with Cloud, but I don't really want to. He lives all the way in Twilight Town… or I could live with Sora, but I have no idea where he went after he left." Roxas shrugged.

"If you hate them so much why don't you run away?" Axel asked

"Because they'd find me and take me back. It's not like 'they kicked out my brother and force me to go to church' is a legitimate reason for my running away." Roxas said, rubbing his arm.

"Is the burn okay? I forgot to ask. And did your parents kill you when you got home?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. And I'm still here, aren't I? They weren't home when I got there, but Cloud was. I got to talk to him." Roxas grinned.

"Ah, the big brother. The one you look up to. They always seem so much older even though they're not, don't they?" Axel asked.

"You have one?"

"Yep. He's annoying as hell. His name's Reno and he runs a tattoo place. That's where I got mine and all my piercings." Axel grinned, pointing to his upside-down purple tears.

"So, are we gonna go to lunch or what?" Roxas asked. Axel looked at his watch.

"Shit! We only have five minutes!" He cursed.

"Meh, it's okay. I'll just eat during my free hour." Roxas shrugged, praying that Selphie wouldn't be there. Actually, Roxas was thinking about hanging out with Areith for study hall, but after he checked his email.

After art (and after Namine thoroughly questioned him on where he was) Roxas headed for the library.

Lo and behold there was an email from his brother and a few from his Twilight Town friends.

He talked a bit with the trio, then went to the email from his brother.

"Oh Belle? I just helped her find some books once. She likes to read a lot. Yeah I'm still in school, MOM. Riku made me go. Ooh! Ooh! Is Cloud gonna get married to her? His emails are pretty empty. Write soon, little bro!"

Roxas sighed and shook his head.

"Yeah, Cloud's gonna marry her, and what did I say about you only being two minutes older? Anyways, Cloud's visiting. He told Areith and Zack about mother and father. Have fun wherever you are. Seriously… where are you? I gotta go, class and all. Talk to you later!"

Roxas logged out and headed for Areith's office.

She let him hang out there and eat his lunch. He had a few books that he had told Zexion he'd read, and he was so into them that Areith had to tell him to leave three times.

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. A few new emails, a few funny conversations, someone yelling "Ten points for Gryffindor!" during a class when someone answered some question correctly, and Roxas's grounding was lifted on Wednesday. Cloud left on Thursday, reminding Roxas to call if he needed anything.

Then it was Friday.

The day of the sleepover that Namine had been talking about nonstop.

Roxas knew his parents wouldn't let him go, but he promised Axel that he would, and he intended on keeping it.

When he got home he went straight to his room and pulled out a book. His father called him up a few seconds later.

"Roxas! Get your ass up here this instant!" He screamed. Roxas swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat and walked up the stairs.

"What's this?" The man hissed, shoving Roxas's face to a screen. Thank God his parents were technology challenged, they could only see the emails he sent Hayner, Pence, and Olette. He had deleted the ones he sent Sora.

"My email account." Roxas whispered.

"Did we not forbid you to use it?"

"You did."

"Then WHY are there ones from TODAY?" His father demanded.

"Because I sent them from school." Roxas whispered.

"YOU DEFIED OUR RULES?" His father screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Yes." Roxas whispered.

"You little SHIT!" the man roared, punching Roxas's face, right in his eye.

Roxas swore in his head as the man punched his stomach a few times before leaving him on the ground.

He crawled back to his room, his stomach all but screaming in pain, and took some painkillers.

But how would he hide the bruise that was already purpling his eye?

He had taken a shower, so there was no gel in his hair and it was sticking up at weird directions as always. He shook it out so that the golden hair covered his eye and nodded. He packed some stuff and changed into some jeans.

He peeked upstairs. His father had passed out on the couch. He listened silently for a few moments and heard his mother snoring upstairs. He smiled to himself and jumped over the creaky stairs and into Cloud's bedroom.

He opened the window slowly and wriggled out of it onto the roof of the garage, tossing his bag to the ground. He closed the window behind him and jumped from the garage roof to the ground. He grabbed his bag and headed for Namine's house, only getting lost once on the way.

He knocked on the door and Namine beamed when she saw him.

"Hey Roxas! I thought you forgot or something."

"Nah, I just got a little lost, is all." Roxas smiled.

"Come on in!"

**Axel Pov**

Axel looked at the door when Namine ran to answer it, expecting the pizza man.

He was disappointed that Roxas hadn't shown up, but he would live. It just wouldn't be as fun.

But lo and behold his favorite blonde (Sorry Nami, Demy, and Larx) was there.

Roxas's hair hung low over one eye oddly. Of course, his hair wasn't all spiked, so maybe this is how it was supposed to be.

Demyx then turned everyone's attention to himself by hitting Larxene upside the head with a pillow. Namine and Roxas gasped, but Larxene cackled wickedly.

Sounds like she's been practicing that evil laugh.

She attacked Demyx and a pillow war soon followed, with everyone except Zexion and Roxas beating the crap out of each other with pillows.

Namine's mother walked in and clapped her hands. Everyone looked to her.

"I'm going out for a bit. I've got to baby-sit my sister's daughter, can you all behave?" She asked.

"Yes mom!" Was the collective response.

"Hmm… Larxene! You are in charge until my return!" She announced dramatically, pointing to the tall girl who laughed evilly again.

"Muahahahaha! I have all the power! Bow to me!" She yelled to Axel as Namine's mom left.

"Nah, I'm good." Axel replied lazily. Larxene smacked him upside the head with the pillow and the fighting resumed.

Axel tried to convince Roxas to join the game, but Roxas refused, saying he'd just be referee. Axel tried to pull him into the chaos, but Roxas jerked his arm away. Larxene continued to hit everything in sight, and now Roxas was right in front of her.

She hit him upside the head, sending his hair flying, and giving Axel a full view of his face.

He had a fresh black eye.

Axel's eyes widened along with everyone else who'd seen it.

"Where'd you get that black eye?" Demyx gasped.

Roxas's eyes were locked on the floor. He looked like a scared animal. It didn't suit him at all, he looked… broken.

"Roxas?" Namine asked.

"Nothing happened, I ran into a door." Roxas muttered, a hint of fear in his voice.

"A door with a knob so high that it hit your eye?" Axel asked.

"Goddamnit! This always happens!" Roxas exploded, seemingly to himself, and ran out of the room. Axel heard the front door slam.

"Shit." Axel muttered, racing after him.

**Roxas Pov**

'Damn Axel and his stupid jokes!' Roxas cursed to himself as he ran down the street with tears clouding his vision.

'I shouldn't have even gone. And then I let them see through the lie! I should've told them that I ran into Seifer on the way home, not that stupid shit. No one ever believes that.' Roxas thought bitterly.

'Maybe I can find Setzer and…' Roxas's thoughts were cut short by someone grabbing his arm. He flinched, as always, and turned to see who grabbed him. Axel.

"Damn it Axel! Leave me alone! I just want to be left alone. I should've said that to Namine on the first day…" Roxas trailed off, stopped by the lump in his throat and his burning lungs.

"No. I won't leave you alone because, like it or not, you didn't say that to Namine on your first day. You became our friend, we care about you. Now tell me where that black eye's from or you'll regret it." Axel warned.

"What'll you do? Beat me up? Stop talking to me? You can't take away anything, because I have nothing!" Roxas yelled, still running.

"What?" Axel asked, confused. He and Roxas were just walking now.

"I don't have anything! You can't do any worse than what's happening now! What're you going to do? Beat me up? Starve me? Lock me in my room for days? Burn my stuff? Not let me talk to my brothers? Make me live in constant fear after what happened to my sister? Tell me that I'm an abomination and that nothing'll ever love me after what happened in Twilight Town? Well get in line, because you're not the first one with that idea!" Roxas yelled.

"Are you talking about your parents?" Axel asked quietly.

Roxas then realized what he had blurted out before and took off running again.

"Roxas, please! Listen to me!" Axel called, easily catching up to the small blonde.

Roxas stopped and slumped against a light pole, slowly sliding down until he was sitting against it on the sidewalk. He buried his face in his hands and his body shuddered with sobs.

"Roxas…" Axel trailed off, crouching next to him. He sat beside the blonde and gently took his hand. Roxas jumped slightly, but allowed his hand to be taken.

Axel held Roxas's hand as he re-buried his face in his arm.

"Roxas, I would never do any of that to you. I meant that you would regret it because you never told anyone." Axel whispered.

"Well I did tell someone. And guess what he did?" Roxas asked, looking up to Axel with red, tear-filled eyes.

"What?"

"He got me addicted to heroine and raped me, that's what he did." Roxas spat angrily. He buried his face in his arms again and Axel put his arm around the blonde, causing him to flinch.

Axel felt every sob rip its way through Roxas's body as he held him. Eventually Roxas looked up.

"Why are you still here? Why didn't you leave?" Roxas demanded.

"Why would I leave?"

"Because I'm horrible and a drug addict and I was raped." Roxas said as if it was obvious.

"Roxas, look into my eyes." Axel commanded holding Roxas's chin. Roxas looked at his eyes.

"I won't leave because of something that happened in your past, Roxas." Axel said gently.

He leaned into Roxas's lips. Roxas flinched, but didn't pull away. After a sweet, chaste kiss Axel pulled back and looked at Roxas again.

"This might not be the best time, but I have a crush on you Rox." Axel grinned nervously.

Roxas looked at the ground, no emotion in his eyes.

"What is it, Rox?" Axel asked, concerned.

"I can't do this again. I promised Sora." He whispered.

"What're you talking about?" Axel asked.

"I won't be with you so you don't tell anyone about my past, Axel. I did that once and I'm not willing to do it again." Roxas explained robotically. Inside his heart was crushed, but he promised his brother it would never happen again.

"Rox, that's not what I'm saying." Axel said in a hurt tone, causing Roxas to look up.

"What are you saying then?"

"I had a crush on you since the first day. I promise not to tell anyone about this besides our friends, Rox. I'm sorry I kissed you, but you looked like you needed some cheering up and-" Axel's explanation was cut off by Roxas's lips against his. He sat in shock for a few seconds before he kissed back, gently moving his lips with Roxas's.

Roxas moved a few centimeters away.

"I did too. But I thought you wouldn't like me." Roxas whispered.

"I thought you were straight." Axel responded, a bit confused.

"A few years ago Sora came out to me. So I started thinking about my sexuality. And I figured I'm bi." Roxas explained, taking Axel's other hand. Axel beamed, but the smile lessened a second later.

"We've gotta tell the others. Namine'll kill us if she doesn't know." Axel muttered.

"Axel… can I explain the last part later? I will, I promise, but… I don't think I'm ready to right now." Roxas said quietly.

"Of course. But you've got to tell them about your parents." Axel said.

"You… it won't be the whole story. I have… stuff that I've got to show you if you want the whole story." Roxas admitted.

"Stuff?"

"At my house. I- I'll tell you and Namine. You guys can tell the others, okay? But… I'll tell them most of what I told you now." Roxas said quietly.

"Okay Rox. Whatever makes you comfortable. Is that why Areith told you to come down to the office every day?" Axel asked. Roxas nodded.

"Cloud… He's Areith's best friend. I told him to tell her because I knew he needed to. And I needed him to also." Roxas said softly. Axel helped him up.

"C'mon. The others'll be waiting." Axel said, taking the blonde's hand again. Roxas flinched and Axel pretended not to notice.

"Onward!" Axel exclaimed.

They finally got back to Namine's house after searching for a while.

"Holy shit Rox. Next time you run away leave a trail of rocks like Hansel and Gretel or something." Axel complained.

"I didn't know we ran that far. I didn't know I _could_ run that far!" Roxas moaned as they made their way up the porch steps.

Axel rang the doorbell.

"Axel? Roxas?" Namine asked as she opened the door.

"Hello, you ordered a small blonde with blue eyes? That'll be ten dollars." Axel joked, walking in with Roxas.

"Hey! Is he okay?" Demyx asked worriedly.

"Course not, dumbass! He just freaking ran away!" Larxene yelled at Demyx.

"I think he meant 'is he going to freak out and run away again, or do we need to lock the door?'." Zexion explained.

"Are you okay Rox?" Marluxia asked, flicking his pink hair out of his face.

"Not really, but I've been worse." Roxas admitted.

"Wanna tell us what that was all about?" Marluxia asked, raising a brow. Namine slapped his head.

"Marly!" She chided.

"Nah, it's fine Namine. Axel… convinced me to tell you what happened." Roxas said softly.

"Well, what happened, then?" Larxene asked.

"Before I came here, to the sleepover, my father found out that I was emailing my friends from Twilight Town even after they broke my computer and forbid me from ever talking to them again. That's what the black eye's from." Roxas admitted, looking at the ground.

Namine gasped.

"And the cigar burn is because when my father was beating me up-my punishment for existing that day-my eyes started watering. He yelled at me, telling me that men don't cry and that he'd teach me a lesson. Then he took the cigar out of his mouth and ground it into my arm." Roxas still had a death grip on Axel's hand as he told all of this to the floor.

Demyx looked at Zexion, wondering what to do.

"And then my brother, Cloud, came for a visit last week. I got to eat that night, even though I was grounded, so I was pretty happy. Then my father asked Cloud if he was gay, which he isn't, and Cloud started talking back to him, saying that my father had no hold over him. That nothing my father did could hurt him anymore. So my father grabbed my burn and pinched it as hard as he could and started twisting the skin off. Cloud got him to stop though." Roxas refused to let the tears fall from his eyes.

"And a long time ago they killed my sister. She used to dance, and they broke her legs and left her down there to bleed to death next to me. They kicked my brother Sora, _their favorite_, out of the house because he was gay. And now I'm the only one left." Roxas whispered.

"Roxas… what was your sister's name?" Namine asked.

"Xion. She had short black hair and blue eyes and I didn't get to say anything at her funeral." Roxas tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

"Oh my God!" Demyx cried, hugging Roxas (who flinched) and crying.

"Uh…" Roxas began, but Demyx cut him off.

"I'm so sorry! I just thought you were weird! I didn't know something this bad happened to you!" Demyx cried.

"Umm…" Roxas tried to think of a response, but Demyx was pulled off of him by Larxene.

"God, you're an idiot." Larxene said.

"Roxas, do you need us to do anything? To help, I mean." Zexion asked.

"Not right now. But thanks. I'm going to see if I can make it to my 18th birthday without going into the foster care system." Roxas admitted.

"But Rox! That's two years!" Namine cried.

"I know." Roxas nodded.

"So… cake anyone?" Marluxia asked, trying to change the subject. Everyone besides Roxas and Axel hastily agreed to cake.

"I'll just sit with Roxas here." Axel said as the others headed for the kitchen.

Marluxia shrugged and they filed into the small room to crowd around the table.

"So…" Axel trailed off, trying to make Roxas talk.

"So they hate me." Roxas said as he looked at the floor.

"No they don't. They're just shocked. They can't believe that two people we care about are going through the same thing." Axel said.

"Two?"

"Aqua."

"Oh. She's not going through it any more. She's dead. She's lucky." Roxas said bitterly.

"No, she died before she got a chance to live." Axel said quietly.

"She got to live. She got to keep her innocence. She doesn't have to go through any pain. She doesn't have to have anyone telling her that she's a horrible waste of space and that she's only a mistake. Not anymore." Roxas said, finally looking up from the floor.

"She never got to grow up. Never got to see her brothers. Never got to be with her friends." Axel argued.

"But she said she was happy to die, she said it was her time." Roxas whispered, so soft that Axel wasn't sure if he heard it.

"No, she never…" Axel trailed off, thinking.

"C'mon, Ax. You remember now, don't you?" Roxas asked.

"But… his name was Ventus." Axel said in disbelief.

"Yeah, and your name was Lea. Think about it. Her name wasn't right on the gravestone. She lived on Radiant and Garden. Cloud spoke at her funeral. You hung out with a little blonde kid with spiky hair and blue eyes once when you went over. He kicked your little butt sparring. And you saw him in the bushes at the funeral. That's what I needed to tell you and Namine." Roxas smiled.

"But… she would've told us, we were her friends." Axel mumbled.

"She was my sister. And they treated her worse then, but then there were four kids to spread out 'punishments' for. Now there's just one." Roxas said softly.

"Ven?" Axel asked.

"Yep." Roxas nodded, taking his green Wayfinder from beneath his shirt and showing it to Axel.


	10. Roxas Explains

***Well, wasn't last chapter odd? Axel came out of the closet, I skipped a week, Roxas's friends found out about his parents, we find out that Roxas is Ven and Xion is Aqua, and Roxas and Axel get all kissy-kissy. Plus Roxas told Axel that he had something he wanted to explain to Axel and Namine. Ooh! Drama! Explanations! Suspense! Yay! Holy crap this chapter's long…***

**Roxas Pov**

The sleepover went pretty smoothly after Marluxia's distraction. Everyone settled in for movies and a short popcorn fight, while Axel tried to grasp onto what little information Roxas had given him and Roxas held Axel's hand under the blankets all night.

In short, a pretty fucked-up day that ended well.

Roxas woke up to his ipod blasting in his ears, telling him his alarm went off. It was four in the morning.

He detached himself from Axel and left a note in the hand he had been holding. He grabbed his stuff and headed home.

This time he didn't get lost.

He crept in through Cloud's room and got all the way to the basement undetected. But his mother was waiting there for him.

"Boy. Why were you not here?" She asked, her voice calm.

That's scary.

"I… um…" Roxas trailed off.

"ANSWER ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!" She screamed. He cringed.

"I… I was visiting Sora. He… he came to town and he told me to leave with him. But I refused. And… he just wanted to talk." Roxas lied, thinking up the best possible story.

If she knew he was at a party he'd be dead.

"Well, why did you even go? That _abomination _deserves to burn in hell!" She said in her calm voice.

"Uh… I just… I needed to be sure. I couldn't take your word when you said that he was, but now I know." Roxas said, looking at the floor. He hoped Sora would forgive him for saying that about him.

"You lie! You were out partying or some other such sinful activities!" She yelled.

"I wasn't partying. That's the rule you told me NEVER to break. That and telling." Roxas whispered to the ground.

"You better not have been. If you were partying OR telling about what we do… you won't have the breath to call the cops this time." She hissed, grabbing the front of his shirt.

Roxas swallowed and nodded.

She cackled and punched his already black eye.

She left, going upstairs to that crazy church stuff. Roxas held his aching eye and sat on his bed.

A few hours later he heard the door slam once.

A few minutes later it slammed again.

Mother and Father are out.

Now all he had to do was wait.

**Axel Pov**

Axel told Namine that he'd help her with clean-up, and she was more than happy to put him to work picking popcorn out of the carpet after everyone left.

Roxas had left Axel a note telling him to bring Namine to his house so he could tell them the rest.

"So, why are you really here?" Namine asked as she helped pick up the kernels.

"Roxas left me a note before he left. And when we were talking yesterday he promised to tell me the whole story. And he wanted you to hear too." Axel explained.

"There's more?" She gasped.

"Tons more, from what he told me." Axel nodded.

"Like what?" She asked, concerned.

"Well, I seem to remember him saying something about rape. And about his sister…" He trailed off, unsure whether to tell Namine about Roxas being Ven.

"What time did he say to come over?"

"Um, any time between 6 am and 9 pm." Axel said, reading off the note.

"Well, we're pretty much done here. Let's go!" She smiled.

So they started the long walk to Roxas's house.

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas walked around his room, thinking of how exactly he'd tell them all of this. He scratched the back of his head and he heard the door bell ring.

That'd be them.

Roxas walked up the stairs and looked out the window. A head of spiky red hair greeted him. He smiled softly to himself and opened the door.

Axel and Namine walked in and he took them to his room.

"So…" Namine said, a bit awkwardly.

"Um…" Roxas agreed, scratching his arm.

Axel tried to touch Roxas's shoulder, but Roxas flinched away.

"Roxas… I just want to know what happened to make you want to flinch every time I touch you." Axel whispered. He reached out and tried to take Roxas's hand, but Roxas jerked away again. Axel retracted his hand.

"It's not that I don't want you to… It's just… a long story." Roxas mumbled, taking Axel's hand.

"We've got a long time." Axel said flatly.

Roxas took a deep breath and looked through his lashes at Axel. He could do this. Axel and Namine wouldn't hurt him.

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it.

He couldn't do this.

Axel squeezed his hand gently. Roxas relaxed a little bit. He opened his mouth and it began talking to them.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

_Tiffany was an odd girl. That's what everyone said about her at least. Always had her nose buried in the bible. Her parents didn't know what to make of it; they had been Catholic, but… Not as overly religious. _

_Then she met Robert. The man held… similar beliefs to hers. At least, that's what he said._

_He brought her to a bar. And convinced her to take a drink._

_He had laced the drink with something. They had sex that night, something Tiffany never would have dreamed of before. At all. Ever. _

_Two months later Tiffany, barley 18, was married._

_Seven months after that she was holding a child in a hospital bed, glaring at the thing that had ruined her life. She held off two years until she couldn't bear the sight of the child's face, which looked so much like his father's or his eyes, which were mirrors of hers. She hit him and sent him to his room, something insignificant at the time, but it marked the beginning of the abuse._

_Her husband held off another year until he began to beat the child. They would forget about little Cloud for days, not washing him or feeding him. _

_By then Tiffany was pregnant again, and drinking more._

_They had a beautiful girl, one with features identical to her mother's. This made Tiffany hate her even more. It was like she was mocking herself. _

_Tiffany's husband impregnated her again soon after her hated daughter was out of her. This time with twins. _

_Tiffany hated the brown-haired twin the least. He, with the odd hair, looked different from the rest of the family. Although he did have Tiffany's eyes. It was like a curse._

_Her last son looked almost exactly like his older brother. Scarily so. It was like he was taunting her too, judging her for hurting an innocent child._

_Which is why after they were all born Tiffany began to not think of them as children. They were THINGS. Its. Not people, not even animals, abominations._

_So was her husband, but she couldn't divorce him. Then even her faith would be taken from her by this man, and she refused to let him take everything._

_After Cloud had been born the only person in the family they saw was Robert's sister. And she was the meanest person on the face of the Earth._

**Roxas Pov**

"We were born in this place called Agrabah. It was a desert, from what Cloud's told me. He was the oldest, three years older than me. Mother had Xion just after what the cut-off date for school would be, and had us just before. That is, she had Sora and me just before the date. That way we were in the same grade. We lived in Agrabah until we were three and Cloud was six. We came here and Cloud went to the private school. Before we were born he was getting most of the abuse." Roxas whispered, his stomach clenched.

"Poor Cloud…" Namine trailed off.

Roxas nodded.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

_Tiffany and Robert left their home in Agrabah because the neighbors heard Tiffany cry out one night. Robert had been taking his anger out on both her and Cloud because he had been fired from his job._

_He blamed all his problems on Tiffany. She was the one who had threatened to get him arrested on rape charges if he didn't marry her._

_At least she generously gave him four other things to take his anger out on. _

_They moved to the metropolis that is known as Hollow Bastion. Bright lights, tons of jobs, millions of people for them to blend in with. No one would notice them, they had just bought a small house and enrolled their kids into a school. Nothing strange._

_People had begun looking for the kids though. They had figured out about the abuse._

_So they dyed their kids' hair. They dyed Xion's blue and called her Aqua. They dyed Sora's black and gave him yellow contacts and called him Vanitas. They dyed Cloud's hair brown and called him Terra. But they let Roxas stay the same._

_No one besides them actually knew Roxas existed. Tiffany's parents knew she got pregnant, but had no idea that she was carrying twins. She had cut all ties with them before the twins were born, and when they asked for the child's name when they went to the hospital they were just told the oldest twin's name, Sora._

_They called Roxas Ventus. He and Sora played all the time. Especially with Xion. But then… Sora was brainwashed by Tiffany and Robert. He told on them whenever they did something wrong and sometimes made stuff up._

_So, Cloud began to hang out with Xion and Roxas more. He played games with them, helped them with stuff, he even took the blame when they did things wrong._

_One day Xion gave them little flower/star things on ropes._

"_What's this?" Little Roxas asked._

"_A Wayfinder. I heard that if you have it with you at all times, you'll always find your way back to whoever you love. And since we all have the same ones, we'll always come back to each other!" Xion exclaimed, brushing her blue hair out of her eyes._

"_Thanks Xi-er- Aqua." Cloud stumbled. They still had to get used to the new names._

**Roxas Pov**

"They dyed his hair brown and told us to call him Terra. They dyed Sora's hair black and called him Vanitas. They let me keep myself the way I was, no one would recognize me anyways. And they dyed Xion's hair blue and called her Aqua." Roxas continued.

"Oh my God." Namine gasped in comprehension. She recognized the name 'Aqua'. She had been her best friend.

"Xion was so little. Before they fully brainwashed Sora… she gave him his Wayfinder first. It was pink, and it had a little smiley face on it. Back then he played with us more. Mother and Father were less mean too. They only hit Cloud, and only a little then. They began to brainwash him after that. They got steadily worse. Then Xion gave me and Cloud Wayfinders. My Wayfinder was green. Cloud's was orange. And Xion's was blue. We wore them every day. I don't know about Cloud, but I still have mine." Roxas went on, ignoring Namine's comment. He reached under his shirt and pulled out a necklace. It was a star-flower shape with a weird symbol in the middle. The petals were colored in green. Namine was staring at it with an odd expression.

"What?" Roxas asked.

"Aqua-er-Xion always wore it. But she didn't have it on at the funeral." She whispered.

"I know." Roxas responded. He turned and lifted a few floorboards. Axel and Namine watched as he dug around until he apparently found what he was looking for.

It was a box. A normal-looking plastic bin.

"This is all I have left of her." Roxas whispered. Axel and Namine were silent.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

_Roxas and Xion got up early. Roxas had to wear that stupid uniform, but Xion got to wear whatever she wanted._

_She pulled out a long dress from the floorboards. It was black, it zipped in the front, and had long sleeves._

"_Wow Xion, I mean Aqua, that's really cool." Roxas admitted as he looked at the dress. Xion smiled and put it on._

"_Now I can do anything! I'm a superhero!" She exclaimed, pretending the dress was her superhero disguise._

"_Aw… I want to be a hero too…" Roxas mumbled sadly._

"_You are! You've got the power of smartness. You can solve any problem." She informed him. _

_They ran outside and played "superheroes" until they got to their schools_.

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas opened the box. He pulled out a dress, a floor-length black sleeved dress. It kinda looked like a black coat. Axel recognized it immediately.

"That's…" He trailed off in wonder.

"The dress she wore almost every day. She loved it so much. I kept it when Mother and Father tried to throw her stuff away." Roxas mumbled, folding it and putting it on the floor. He took two books out. The Cat in the Hat and Harry Potter.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

_Xion sat on her bed, reading. Roxas burst into the room, rubbing his side._

"_Hey Aqua! Whatcha readin'?" He asked, wincing as he walked over to her._

"_Harry Potter__" She answered, not looking up._

"_You love to read. I wish I could read as fast as you." Roxas admired, still holding his bruised side as he sat._

"_Well here." She pushed the book to him, "All you need is a few good books and you'll be as fast as me in no time!" She smiled at her younger brother. He took the book and bean to read._

**Roxas Pov**

"These were her favorites." Roxas whispered, putting them beside the dress, "She's the one who taught me how to read fast. She was always reading here, she made us play games based on books and she'd tell Cloud and me stories and we'd just sit there, listening as she told us." Roxas remembered.

"Yeah, she read a lot. She could keep up with Zexion." Axel whispered.

Roxas dug around the box some more. He pulled out a bunch of pictures from when they were little. Pictures of "Aqua" and of Xion. There were some of him and a black-haired boy. Some of a brown-haired boy. Some of "Terra" and of Cloud. None of their parents.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

"_Say cheese!" Xion cried, brandishing her camera and clicking mercilessly._

"_Aqua! You've got a million pictures of us already!" Sora complained. He was playing with them today, something totally out of the ordinary._

"_Hold still! I don't have enough of you!" Xion yelled at him._

"_Fine." He pouted. Roxas got into the picture next to him._

"_Cheese!" He exclaimed, throwing his arm around his twin._

_Suddenly Xion threw her camera beneath the floorboards._

"_Why are you yelling cheese?" Tiffany demanded, storming down the stairs and shaking Xion._

"_I was pretending to take pictures." Xion lied in a scared voice._

"_You BETTER just be pretending, if I catch you with my camera one more time…" Tiffany let her threat hang in the air as she left._

**Roxas Pov**

"She stole a camera. She loved the thing, used it a lot. She told me that she would be a famous photographer when she grew up. She talked about growing up a lot. But… when Mother and Father began treating her the worst… She started using the words "if I grow up". She… I think she knew. She wasn't stupid or a little kid. She knew that what they were doing was wrong. She knew she should tell someone. She just didn't want to leave us alone. She didn't want to be taken away and never see us again. So she hid it. She told me a lot about Namine." Roxas whispered, tears trailing down his face.

"Did she say anything about the rest of us?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. She described you all. Told me everything. We were best friends. I had one friend, Selphie, at school, usually I just tried to read whatever Xion was reading at the moment so I'd know what she was talking about when I got home." Roxas sniffed.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

"_Aqua, why do you always wear that around your neck?" Namine asked her best friend._

"_It's my Wayfinder. As long as I have it I'll never lose my way, I'll always know where to go. I gave some to my brothers." Xion giggled._

"_Can I have one?" Namine asked, unleashing the puppy eyes._

"_Sure! I just have to make one!" Xion agreed. _

_She walked home later with the materials for the Wayfinder under her dress._

_She was so hungry. She hadn't eaten in three days…_

_She got to work on the Wayfinder in the basement. Soon Roxas jumped down the stairs._

"_Hey Aqua!" He called, used to calling her that._

"_Roxas… don't call me that. I like my name. My REAL name." Xion sighed._

"_Okay Xion. What're you doing?" He asked, pointing to her inventing._

"_Making a Wayfinder for Namine. I think she'll need one soon." Xion sighed, holding her stomach, partially out of pain and partially out of hunger._

"_Shit, when's the last time you ate?" Roxas asked, worried._

"_I… I don't remember." Xion admitted._

"_I'll be right back." Roxas promised. He ran upstairs._

"_Roxas!" She hissed. She stared at the door, worried. Then he snuck back down with a package of crackers._

"_Here! Give me a few so I can eat them so if Mother makes me barf it'll look like I did it. Now eat." Roxas commanded._

"_But…" Xion trailed off._

"_EAT." Roxas ordered, forcing the package into her hands. She ate._

"_Now hide that thing. I'm going to go tell Mother I ate this." Roxas gulped and walked up the stairs. He silently crept into the kitchen and reopened the pantry. He crinkled the wrapper as if he was digging out crackers and eating them. Then he knocked over a big bin._

"_Roxas!" Tiffany yelled as she walked into the room. She beat the shit out of him, but he didn't make a sound. He knew Xion was safe._

**Roxas Pov**

"My parents beat her up a lot by 4th grade. She was always in pain. The day before she died she gave Namine that yellow Wayfinder. When she came home she took me over to her bed and sat there for at least three hours just talking. She told me everything she knew about everything. She told me about all of you. She told me little details about everything she loved. Mother and Father had been starving her for a while, five days I think. She was so skinny. I snuck her bits of food, but there wasn't much I could do." Roxas continued. He pulled out a blue dress from the box. It was simple and small. Very pretty, it shimmered in the dim light.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

_Roxas sat, confused by why Xion was telling him everything. He decided that it was her hunger making her go crazy, so he sat and listened. Then Xion pulled a dress from the floorboards._

"_Where did you get that?" Roxas gasped._

"_It was in the attic. In the stuff that Mother brought with her. It must have been hers." Xion explained with short sentences._

"_She'll kill you!" Roxas exclaimed. Xion just shook her head._

"_Will you dance with me?" She asked. Dancing was her favorite thing, besides taking pictures. _

"_Wait, take a picture." Xion ordered. Roxas did as she told him, still humoring his starved sister._

"_Okay, dance." Xion whispered._

"_How're we supposed to dance without music?" Roxas asked his sister._

_So she whispered a song. A Disney song, that one from Beauty and the Beast._

_And they danced. They were pretty good at it, seeing as it was Xion's favorite thing to do. _

_Soon Xion was out of breath, but she wanted to dance so badly. She danced more and more._

"_Roxas." She whispered, slowing the dance._

"_Yeah?" He asked, still confused by her._

"_I have this huge crush on Riku. I just wanted someone to know." She said quietly._

"_Why don't you tell him?" Roxas asked._

"_Because he's Sora's best friend. How would I tell him?" She asked._

"_I don't know." Roxas responded. They began to dance normally again, but Xion passed out._

**Roxas Pov**

"She pulled this out a floorboard. She put it on. And she asked me to take a picture. So I did. Then she told me to dance with her. And I did. She loved to dance when we were little. She twirled and we had fun. And then she hugged me and we were still swaying. And she whispered about her crush on Riku, he went to school with my brother. Then she passed out from hunger and I got her into her sleeping clothes and I put her to bed. She woke up in the middle of the night and Cloud snuck her some food, so she ate. The next day she kissed Riku. On the cheek. Sora had brought him over to play and she kissed him on the cheek and ran downstairs." Roxas's tears were falling faster now. He wiped them away and put the dress down.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

_Xion ran down the stairs as fast as she could. Roxas looked up and smiled at her._

"_Hey Xion, what's up?" He asked, putting down his book._

"_I kissed Riku on the cheek." She blushed._

"_Aw…" Roxas teased._

"_Shut up! It was fun." She giggled._

_We heard feet on the stairs, so Roxas stuffed his books under the floor as Tiffany and Robert burst in._

"_We heard from Mr. Makel… That you've been stealing, you little wretch! You've got some nerve. Not just food, no… you STOLE film for a camera! You don't even HAVE a camera! You filthy thief! You sinner! You'll burn in hell! You have broken every rule we set for you, and now you have to pay." Tiffany ranted. Roxas gasped from the bed and ran to help Xion. She was so fragile… _

"_Don't even think about it, Roxas!" Tiffany screeched. She punched the small boy in the stomach and held him down, punching and kicking him, until he heard a sickening CRUNCH! From where Robert was kicking Xion._

"_Xion!" He yelled. His mother punched his face._

_Xion screamed, sobbing. Then Robert sprinkled something down her throat and she was quiet. She was so bloody… _

_Tiffany and Robert went up the stairs, leaving Roxas and Xion alone._

"_Xion…" Roxas moaned, crawling over to her._

_Her pupils were huge. Whatever Robert had put down her throat made her happy._

_Xion touched Roxas's face and sighed._

"_Roxas, I've found my way. I don't need the Wayfinder anymore. But you haven't found yours. You need extra help. Take mine, it'll help. I love you Roxas. I love Sora. And I love Cloud. I love all my friends. I hope they can get by without me, cuz I won't be around to help them… Roxas, get away from them. I'll miss you, but I don't want you to come with me." Xion babbled._

_Roxas looked at her like she was crazy._

"_Why can't I come with you? Why will you miss me? I'm right here!" Roxas whimpered, holding his stomach._

_And Xion laughed. It was such a pretty laugh._

_She kissed his forehead._

"_Make sure you get my Wayfinder before someone steals it." She whispered._

_Roxas decided to humor her as he panicked. He took the charm from her neck._

"_Sing Roxas. I want to dance, but I can't, so sing and I'll dance in my head." Xion coughed._

_Roxas sang. A lullaby that he learned in school._

_Xion started gasping for air and Roxas paused._

"_Sing." She wheezed _

_Roxas realized she was going to die. Tears fell, but he sang for her. Until her eyes fluttered closed and she was cold._

_And he kept singing. Until his parents came downstairs to tell him to pack._

_And as his parents left the house an hour later he had the Wayfinder around his neck and he had hidden Xion's stuff inside some of his things._

_So he grabbed the phone, dialed 911 and waited as his parents loaded up the car._

"_911, what's your-" the lady was cut off._

"_My parents killed my sister and they left her in the basement. We're on Radiant and Garden." Roxas whispered into the phone. He hung up and walked over to the car. He sat between Cloud and Sora._

**Roxas Pov**

"Mother and Father came down together. They screamed at her, yelling because it seemed that she got caught stealing food and some new film for her camera. I tried to help. I really did. But how much good could a scrawny 10 year old do? Mother held me down and beat me up while Father… broke her. She was so hurt, that's the only word I can use to describe it. Broken. They left us there, her bleeding to death and me in pain. I got up and went to her, she was so bloody. Her hair was purple it was so soaked. But she smiled at me. And she touched my face. And she said 'Roxas, I've found my way. I don't need the Wayfinder anymore. But you haven't found yours. You need extra help. Take mine, it'll help. I love you Roxas. I love Sora. And I love Cloud. I love all my friends. I hope they can get by without me, cuz I won't be around to help them… Roxas, get away from them. I'll miss you, but I don't want you to come with me.'" Roxas choked out.

"And I had no idea what she meant! I didn't think she was dying… I just thought… She'd get better! She always got better! So I said 'Why can't I come with you? Why will you miss me? I'm right here!' and she laughed. She kissed my forehead and told me to make sure that I got the Wayfinder before someone stole it. So I figured she was talking about going to the hospital. And I took the Wayfinder. And she told me to sing. She said that she wanted to dance, but she couldn't, so she wanted me to sing. So I did. I don't even remember what it was that I sang, I just sang until she… started gasping for air. I stopped singing for a second. Then she told me to sing again and it finally sunk in that she was dying. So I was sobbing and singing until she was cold. I was covered in her blood. I stuffed her camera and the pictures under the floorboards just as Mother and Father came down to tell me that we were moving." Roxas sobbed. Axel hugged him and Roxas, again, cringed when he was touched. But he rested his head against the taller boy and cried. He pulled a second necklace from under his shirt. It was identical to the first, except it was colored in blue.

"It's okay, I understand now." Axel whispered to the blonde's hair. He buried his face in the soft locks and Roxas was rigid for a second, then relaxed. He clenched Axel's arm and turned around to face him.

"No, that's just the beginning." Roxas sniffled.

"Cloud took me to the funeral. I couldn't go up and say anything because I looked just like Ventus. Plus I couldn't really SAY anything either. I was too sad." Roxas admitted.

"Yeah, we all wondered why he was there." Namine said her thoughts aloud.

"And I saw you. You were crying and you didn't have the tattoos or piercings yet." Roxas said to Axel.

"Mhm, and you were crying in the bushes." Axel nodded.

"We moved to Twilight Town. Sora came out of his brainwashing enough for me to be able to talk to him. He still threw me under the bus for himself a few times, but only when he really needed to. Cloud was growing up. He was in high school. He became friends with Tifa, Areith, and Zack. Mother and Father beat him more. They cut his wrists once, it was so bad he ended up in the hospital. And everyone thought he was emo. They stabbed him with a mirror shard. They made him tell his friends that he was anorexic. But then he started getting attention from adults who thought he was emo and anorexic, so they stopped beating him as much. And Sora still got the best treatment, so that left me. They took out all their anger and stress out on me. For 6th grade I was kind of zombified. I didn't talk to anyone. Then I came out of my shell a little in 7th grade. I made friends with Hayner, Pence, and Olette." Roxas went on.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

"_Hey nerd! You with the goldy-locks!" Banzai yelled. Roxas sighed. This happened every day._

"_I don't have any money, if I did I still wouldn't give it to you, now just beat me up so I can get back to my book." Roxas answered in a bored voice._

_Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, and Scar took his advice. He could barley walk when he stumbled over to his friends._

"_Roxas…" Olette worried. Roxas just sat down._

"_Olette, I'll tell someone when it gets too bad. I can take this. I'll be fine, I always am." Roxas sighed. They went through this every day._

"_Why don't you tell anyone?" Pence asked._

"_No one would care." Roxas said quietly. Olette and Pence shared a look. Roxas hadn't told them anything about himself when he joined their group. They wondered what was going on inside his head._

_Inside his head he was wishing he had some food. But that wasn't going to happen any time soon._

**Roxas Pov**

"Then Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, and Scar came along. It was like Hell. I'd get beat up at home, then go to school to get hurt even more. Hayner, Pence, and Olette tried to get me to tell someone, but… I wouldn't. I knew Mother and Father would just blame it on me. So I took it. Until Sora and Riku got fed up with it and kicked their asses. By the way, Riku moved there too. He was part of the reason we moved THERE. You see, he was moving there anyways, and Sora just told Mother and Father about how little the cost of a house was there, and Ta-dah! There we were. Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed never messed with me after 8th grade. They even went to a different school." Roxas continued.

"So that's why?" Axel asked, wishing the story were over. He had begged Roxas to tell him, but… now he wished he didn't know.

"No. The reason why is the next year. My teacher, Vexen, was my favorite. He taught science. He was so cool, nice to everyone, made jokes, you know. Then one day he told me to see him after class. He told me that he knew about what my parents did. He knew how they hurt me. And he told me that he'd tell them that I did something bad if I didn't do whatever he said." Roxas mumbled, pulling away from Axel. Axel probably wouldn't want to touch him after he said the next part.

Axel's eyes widened. He could guess where this was going.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

"_Okay, that's all for the day. Remember your homework. And Roxas, I need to see you after class!" Vexen called to the students. _

"_What'd you do?" Pence teased._

"_I don't know." Roxas smiled, shrugging. Pence laughed and left. Vexen closed the door._

"_Roxas, something odd has come to my attention." Vexen began, "It seems to me that some domestic violence is occurring at your house." Vexen accused, looking straight at Roxas._

"_I have no idea-" Roxas began, but was cut off._

"_Cut the crap, Roxas. I know this. Now I'll tell your parents that… you stole some of my chemicals if you do not do exactly as I tell you." Vexen threatened._

_Roxas gulped. His mother regarded stealing as the ultimate crime._

"_What?" Roxas asked. Vexen smiled and licked his lips. He'd enjoy this._

**Roxas Pov**

"So he raped me. And it hurt so bad, I can still feel it when I dream. I felt so… disgusting. Like a whore. And I LET him do those… THINGS to protect them! He threatened that he'd tell people about my parents. He said he'd tell my parents lies. He even said he'd tell them about what he did to me and that I LIKED it! He was so sick! And I couldn't do anything! And so he… one day when I was in 10th grade… he… took a syringe and injected something into my arm. It was wonderful, it made me feel like I was flying. I was so happy. I came in every day for that stuff." Roxas admitted, a wistful look in his eyes.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

"_Roxas, someone's been hearing you. I'll just give you this to make you quiet." Vexen laughed, piercing Roxas's skin with a needle. _

_Roxas had to come in here once a week for "Extra Credit"_

_Vexen pushed the plunger down and Roxas felt warmth course through his veins._

_He was happy, flying. There was no pain. There was a jack in the box behind him, bouncing._

"_Holy shit, you're one bright clown." Roxas mumbled at Vexen, who merely laughed._

**Roxas Pov**

"He DID that to you?" Axel gasped. Roxas was scared as he nodded. Axel crushed him in a hug and didn't even do anything when Roxas flinched.

"He only gave me a little. Enough for him to… do his business, enough for me to be high for a few hours, enough for me to get addicted to it, but not enough for my parents to find out. No, it was my friends who figured it out first. They… they found me lying there on the floor in his classroom. No pants on. The heroine almost out of my system. They thought it was the first time it happened, and I let them believe it." Roxas whispered.

**3****rd**** Person Pov (Past)**

_Roxas was lying on the floor of the Chemistry room, heroine dulling in his veins. He could feel a little pain now. Oh, it always hurt._

"_Roxas?" A familiar voice asked from the hall. Hayner._

"_Roxas!" The same voice yelled, rushing over to his side. It seemed that he put his lock-picking skills to the test and picked the door._

"_Olette, stay out!" Pence cried as he saw Roxas on the floor. But of course Olette didn't listen._

"_Roxas!" She ran next to Hayner._

"_Olette, get help. I'm going to call 911" Pence ordered._

"_Rox, what happened?" Hayner whispered._

"_Vexen… told me to stay after class… had a needle… and made me feel so happy… but it hurts now…" Roxas mumbled, unable to form a coherent sentence._

"_Oh my God… Roxas… I'll help you get your pants on." Hayner said, trying to figure out what the hell to do._

_Roxas had his pants back on when Ms. Jasmine rushed in. Hayner was kneeling next to the slightly more sober Roxas._

"_Oh my God. I-I" She stuttered, unsure of what to do._

"_Pence is calling the police." Olette told her._

"_I think Vexen gave him some drugs. He said that Vexen had a needle…" Hayner told Olette._

"_What happened?" The EMT asked as he got Roxas on a stretcher. _

"_No one knows. Vexen's long gone." Ms. Jasmine whispered. She had worked with Vexen for so long…_

**Roxas Pov**

"I told them that Vexen had been giving me heroine… that he forced it on me… I told them that I was scared. They told my parents. It was the end of the year, Cloud was in college. Sora had known about the whole thing. He had been trying to help me, but there was only so much he could do. Over the summer was hell. I was in withdrawal for a few weeks and I really, really, REALLY wanted more. Finally Sora yelled at me about something, telling me that Xion would be ashamed of how I was acting. And he left. He was gone. He's living with Riku now. Mother and Father found out that he was gay. I'm surprised they didn't kill him, they're both VERY religious, except for the whole 'don't hurt anyone' thing. Of course they think we're spawn of Satan and that we should be killed." Roxas spat out very quickly

"Oh my God, that bastard did that to MY boyfriend?" Axel hissed, still in shock about Vexen.

"I-I was alone. Cloud in college, Xion dead, Sora running away. I am alone and they'll kill me like they did Xion. And I don't want to die, Axel. I've been trying so hard to stay alive for this long, I… I don't want to die!" Roxas broke down into tears again.

"Roxas, you won't die! I won't let them kill you!" Axel promised, still crushing the blond in his hug.

"Neither of us will let that happen to you, Rox." Namine promised quietly.

"Okay. I trust you guys." Roxas whispered. Axel tilted up the smaller boy's chin.

"I'll protect you. I know you can usually take care of yourself, but that doesn't mean you have to go through this alone." Axel reassured him. Roxas smiled.

Then Axel kissed him, pressing his firm lips gently against the softer ones. Roxas moved his lips in sync with Axel's and twisted his fingers through the taller boy's fiery hair. Roxas felt Axel's lips curl upwards in a smile and Roxas smiled with him. He could trust Axel. He broke away from the kiss suddenly and Axel looked up at him in confusion.

"Something I said?" He joked, looking at the smaller boy's scared face.

"No, I'm so sorry Axel. My head doesn't trust you… I want to so badly, but… Vexen did this too… He… as soon as he found out… he kissed me… and then… did THINGS. I'm so sorry Axel." Roxas sobbed, knowing that telling Axel the truth would break his heart. But Axel just hugged the boy again and whispered that he'd never do anything like that.

"It'll take some time, but I'll convince you somehow." Axel whispered as Roxas cried himself to sleep.

**Axel Pov**

"Ax… I knew you were gay, but Roxas's parents'll kill him if they find out…" Namine said quietly when Roxas fell asleep.

"I know… yesterday, when I went after him, I kissed him. And then he flipped. He thought I was doing the same thing as his teacher. But then I explained that I wasn't going to do that. And he kissed me back. And it looks like he's still having trouble with it…" Axel trailed off, stroking the blonde boy's hair.

"Well… it's only been a day. Give him some time. Everything's happening so fast for him right now. He only came to our school two weeks ago." Namine reminded him.

"I know. But we're so stupid! We should've realized sooner, what with Aqua and all." Axel said.

"But we didn't really notice what was going on with Aqua, did we?" Namine reminded him.

"I know…"

"I'm surprised he told us anything. He's really good at lying… How come that lie last night was so crappy?" Namine asked.

"Maybe he couldn't think of a good one." Axel shrugged.

"I'm… going to go Ax. I've gotta tell the others." She said quietly.

"Yeah, he wanted us to… I wonder why he didn't want to tell them?"

"Were you THERE last night? They freaked out! I'm freaking out right now, but I'll wait until I'm with Marly until I start crying, I don't think Roxas needs that right now." Namine said, halfway up the stairs.

"Be careful!" Axel yelled.

Namine nodded.

***So… That was a fun chapter to write! This fic is far from over, just thought you should know. I shall write more soon! Damn, I uploaded like crazy this weekend. I was just like "okay, I'll make a fanfic for AkuRoku day." And BAM. Five uploads. I got 3 one-shots and I finished Death or Life, and I uploaded a chapter of this.***


	11. Girlfriend

***Hey! Now is ze new chapter! You should visit P5hng-Me-A'Wy and TheRoadtoDawn. They are epic authors. If anyone needs a beta I shall do it for them. Okay, that's enough from me, have fun reading!***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas awoke with his head on something hard.

He figured it was the floor and that he'd rolled out of bed in his sleep again.

Whatever. At least it was warm and comfortable. It moved slightly to a better position and Roxas sighed happily.

…Wait… the floor… moved?

Roxas shot up, wide awake at that realization, only to find that the "floor" was Axel's chest. Axel was lying on his bed, looking at the blonde as he slept.

"Ax?" Roxas asked, still tired.

"Hey Rox! I was wondering when you'd wake up."

"Uh… what time is it?" Roxas asked, stretching slightly, then wincing as he felt his bruises.

"Hmm… 9:00 pm." Axel answered, looking at his watch.

"Fuck!" Roxas cursed. He grabbed Axel's wrist and pulled him off the bed. He shoved the redhead into the closet and closed the door.

"Don't. Make. A. Sound." Roxas warned as he heard the front door slam shut.

Roxas looked around the room wildly, then decided to sit on the bed with a book.

He could faintly see Axel's green eyes though the slots in the door, but quickly tore his gaze from them and read the book.

He then realized it was upside-down, and quickly put it the right way.

Fear pooled in his stomach and he jumped badly when the door slammed open.

'Please make me go upstairs, please, please, please. I don't want Axel to see this, please make me go upstairs…' Roxas began begging anything that would listen.

'Fuck!' He swore in his head as his father stormed down the stairs.

**Axel Pov**

Axel watched as Roxas cringed into the headboard of his bed. He looked terrified.

He could see Roxas perfectly, but he could only see the man that had come down the stairs from the waist up.

Roxas shrank down even more, it looked like he was trying to disappear into the headboard.

"Boy. What is this that your Mother's saying about you sneaking out last night?" The man asked, his deep voice calm.

"I-I went to visit Sora, he was in town and was trying to convince me to run away with him. But I would never run away with such an… abomination…" Roxas muttered, looking at the floor.

'Wait… Sora's Roxas's brother… and Roxas loves him, that much is clear, but why would he call him that?' Axel asked himself.

"Oh, you agree with us now when we call him what he truly is?" The man asked.

"Yes Father. Sora's an abomination. For… being with Riku." Roxas said quietly.

"Yes, you finally agree that he is horrible. He's so horrible that his name shall never be uttered in our house." The man hissed.

"Yes Father." Roxas nodded.

"But, I seem to recall you saying his name twice." The man accused.

"Yes, but…" Roxas was cut off by the man.

"You admit to it! You know what doing something wrong twice means!" The man yelled.

"No." Roxas gasped in denial.

"You brought this upon yourself, boy. You sick, disgusting waste of space! I told her to get you aborted, but no… she had to have you! And now look! You're a revolting THING! That man, Vexen, was right to do that to you! He got the only thing out of you worth at least some value! You're evil, EVIL! I knew that from the moment you were born! You were choking that abomination on the way out, you know that? It's all your fault that he turned out the way he is. If you weren't there he'd be perfectly normal!" The man yelled, his fist connecting with Roxas's body repeatedly. Roxas made noises almost as bad as the sounds coming from the man's mouth.

"You disgust me. You little shit. It's your fault Xion died! She was a demon too, looking the same as your mother. She looked identical! That witch! And it's your fault that she died! You killed her! Remember this, boy, we will take away everything you love. If you screw up like you did in Twilight Town again here, everything you love will be gone. Your books! Your brothers! And those friends of yours! Yes, I know about them. I'm not telling your mother yet, but when you screw up they'll be gone too. And nothing will be able to get them back." The man hissed, grabbing Roxas by the shirt and bringing him within inches of the man's face.

Axel could see the man's face now, he was bent over low enough. His expression was full of hatred and drunkenness.

"You look a little uneven." The man commented, punching the boy's unharmed eye. Roxas cried out in pain and his father threw him back on his bed. The man stormed up the stairs and slammed the door.

Axel slowly opened the closet door and headed for his best friend, who was breathing heavily on the bed.

"Rox, are you okay? No, you're not. We need to get you out of here!" Axel whispered.

"No Ax. Didn't you just hear what he said? What happened in Twilight Town wasn't my fault, what do you think they'll do if I tell? They'll kill me! Ax, I really don't want them to kill me any time soon, so I'll be staying here." Roxas said firmly as he clutched his stomach. Axel picked him up (Roxas protested feebly) and brought him over to the closet. Axel sat inside it, with the door shading him from the view of the stairs.

Now if either of his parents looked downstairs they'd just see an open closet with Roxas's butt peeking from the door.

**Roxas Pov**

Axel hugged Roxas to his chest and stroked the blonde's hair.

"Axel?" Roxas asked, looking up at the redhead with his panda eyes.

"Yeah Rox?" Axel asked, mentally wincing at the blonde's bruises.

"What are we?"

"Well, I'm a boy. I'm not so sure about you though." Axel joked.

"No, I mean… are we just friends or what?" Roxas asked.

"Well, I'd like to be your boyfriend, but whatever you want is what we'll do." Axel smiled.

"We can be boyfriends, just… not in public. Selphie would tell my parents in a second, and if someone sees us and tells my mother and father…" Roxas trailed off, remembering how mad they were when they discovered that Sora was gay. He had already left, thank god, but they took out all their rage on Roxas. He felt the pain of Sora's punishment, not Sora.

But he forgave his twin. Sora was lucky, he had gotten away.

Roxas had yet to do what Xion had told him to.

"Okay Rox." Axel said softly, smiling. That was more than he hoped for.

"So… since we're boyfriends can I kiss you?" Roxas asked innocently, looking up though his bangs.

Axel laughed. He leaned forward and kissed the blonde's lips, slowly moving his mouth with Roxas's. This kiss was different from their two others, it went deeper. Roxas gasped in surprise when Axel licked his bottom lip slowly, unwittingly giving the redhead better access. Axel smirked and his tongue explored the smaller boy's mouth. Roxas sighed as his tongue danced with the taller boy's.

This was better than in his dreams.

Axel pulled away and Roxas was sitting with a stupid smile on his face. Axel laughed quietly and hugged the blonde again.

Roxas sighed happily as he leaned on Axel's chest.

Then he realized something.

He was happy.

Not the nervous happy, like when he was at school. Or the fake happy, like when he's acting.

Actually happy, elated even.

His house of cards was very stable.

But Roxas wasn't stupid, he knew that his parents would find out. He knew that they'd tear the house of cards apart, maybe even for good.

He heard pounding footsteps upstairs and he shoved the redhead roughly into the closet. He closed the door and leaned against it, as if he had been just sitting there the whole time.

The basement door opened.

Roxas sucked in a deep breath.

And Selphie, of all people, came bounding down the stairs.

"What the Fu-" Roxas began, but Selphie cut him off with a kiss.

Aaaand Axel's sitting in the closet watching.

Well then.

"Selphie, what the hell are you doing here?" Roxas asked, deeming that more important than the million other things going through his head.

"You mother called. She said that you had a run in with some people in an alley and really wanted to see me." She giggled.

"But… I thought you were with Seifer…?"

"Oh no, he's just a backup plan. You always come first, Roxy!" She giggled.

"Selphie, my mother lied. I don't like you. She thinks we'd be great together, but honestly you're not my type." Roxas said.

"Well what is your type? Tall redhead boys?" Selphie snapped.

"Wha-" Roxas began.

"Don't think that I don't notice the way you look at him. I know what happened to Sora when they found out about him. So you're going to be with me if you don't want your precious friends to know what happened to you." She hissed.

When did this happen? Selphie had always been so nice…

"I already told them. I knew that I had been hiding it long enough." Roxas said quietly.

"You what?" She demanded.

"I told them."

"Well, then I'll tell your parents that your gay AND that you told your friends about what happened if you don't go out with me." She smirked.

"Selphie, if you really love me why do you want to do that? Aren't you all 'anything to make them happy'?" Roxas asked.

"That was the old me. But this guy, Setzer, gave me this bag of stuff, said I was so cute that he'd give me one on the house! It's so awesome, it makes me see colors that don't exist!" She exclaimed.

"Selphie…" Roxas trailed off, worry evident on his face and in his voice.

"I only did it because I heard him talking about you. He said you came to him once a week and got stuff. But that was a while ago." Selphie said happily.

"Selphie, those were bad. I… couldn't control myself when I did that. You've got to believe me, it's horrible." Roxas told her, grabbing her hand.

"No, Setzer's always nice to me. You see, I was walking down the street when I heard your name. I turned to see who said it, and there was Setzer talking to this short dude names Vivi. He was telling Vivi that you were a pretty good customer. So I asked what he was selling. And he laughed and told me that he sold this thing that made you feel happy. And I knew what he was talking about, but I knew you were the smartest person I'd ever met, so of course you'd be right if you said this was good. And I asked him what it felt like. And he gave me a bag and told me to try it myself. So I did, and I've been going back every week." She said, smiling.

"No…" Roxas whispered, horrified that he had turned one of his former best friends into… this.

"Oh yes! It's wonderful! I know you don't do coke, but I brought you some in case you wanted it." She giggled a bit shyly, holding out a bag of white powder.

"I—give it to me, Selph. I'll use it later." Roxas said quietly. She giggled again and handed it to him. He stuffed it in his pocket.

"I knew you'd say yes! I'll see you at school Tuesday! And I'll tell your mom about us going out!" She said happily, waving as she skipped up the stairs. When the coast was clear Roxas opened the closet door.

"You… you're going to…" Axel trailed off.

"No. I took it because if I didn't, she'd just use it herself." Roxas said quietly, stuffing the bag beneath his floorboards.

"Oh. Okay Rox. But what was she saying about Setzer…?" He asked.

"Uh, right after my parents found out about Vexen, they moved. I was addicted to the heroine. I needed it. Sora was trying to get me to quit, but… I didn't want to. I didn't feel anything when I was high… it was like I was free. But after a really bad trip and Sora yelling at me I stopped. I was in withdrawal and it was a bitch, but I quit. I just didn't want Namine to hear that." Roxas said quietly.

"I understand." Axel murmured.

"No, you don't." Roxas whispered.

"Yes I do, Rox. I think it's time I told you about myself." Axel said quietly.

"What?"

***Ooh, looks like Ax's got a bad past too. Muahahahaha!***


	12. The Long Day Ends

***Hey! Today we shall be learning of Axel's past. It doesn't rival Roxas's, but it's not particularly pleasant either. Let's just say there's a reason that Axel wasn't totally horrified that something that bad could happen to someone like Rox. Have fun, and review!***

**Axel Pov**

Roxas looked up at Axel with shock evident in his eyes.

"What do you mean, Ax? I thought you were normal." Roxas whispered.

"Not in the slightest. But it wasn't nearly as bad as you. I- my parents… They fought constantly. My father beat my mother. I gave my sister, Ariel, my iPod and blasted the music so she wouldn't have to hear. She was three years younger than me. I used to cover her ears and sing when my iPod ran out of juice. She could hear it through the walls in her room, so she ran to my room and crawled into my bed. Then, when I was ten and she was seven… Mom shot Dad, then shot herself.

"We, Ariel and I, had heard the first shot. Ariel was freaking, but I told her that it was a car backfiring. I-I went out to see if my story was true… and I saw Mom standing in a pool of Dad's blood. She was freaking… She said something about she never meant for this to happen… Then she pointed the gun at me, her eyes were glazed over… she was drunk… and she shook her head. She told me to go into my room and tell Ariel that Mommy and Daddy went to a nice place. She told me to go to my room. I was so freaked out that I did… and I heard a second gunshot.

"Ariel wondered why I was crying. I told her what Mom told me to tell her… and I called the cops. Ariel figured it out soon enough… and she was sobbing. Reno, my big brother, told the cops that he'd take care of us… He paid for the funeral, but then he got drafted into the war… He told us that we could live with our aunt, but I said that I could take care of me and Ariel until he got back. He looked concerned, but gave me the credit card and told me to take care of my sister.

"He died… He became a hero, then died, fighting to protect one of his friends. Rude, his friend, came over and told us himself… he… he offered to take us in, but I thought I could handle it on my own. Rude didn't understand the social care system. We had no guardian, so a year after Reno died… we were taken away. Ariel was ten and I was thirteen. I haven't seen her since. We email each other and talk on the phone a lot… but it isn't the same.

"A woman, Snow, took me in. She said my hair reminded her of apples. I ran away first chance I got and went back home. I knew the secret hiding spots, so they never found me. I stayed there with a stolen phone and charger, living off the rest of the money on the credit card, until it ran out. Then I was hunting the streets for money on the ground and food. At school I got 'Free or reduced lunch' from the cafeteria, but it wasn't enough." Axel explained, shaking his head.

"I know what you meant." Roxas whispered, speaking for the first time.

"Then, one day during my wandering, I found Setzer. He offered me drugs, said it'd make all my pain go away. I wasn't stupid, I knew what they were and what they'd do to me. But he offered them for free and I was so hungry, I thought maybe I could sell it, you know, for money. I did, made some good cash off it too. Setzer figured it out and asked me to sell for him. I did, so long as I didn't have to actually do the drugs. I… didn't want to get high. So I sold them to innocent kids… and got them addicted.

"Child services eventually caught up with me. I got adopted by a girl called Anastasia, she has memory loss, can't remember her childhood. They say her family was rich and she ended up in a foster home until she was 18. So she wanted someone with a… similar experience. She didn't want anyone else to be in the foster care system that long, it's hell." Axel explained.

"Yeah, I read about it. That's why I don't want to leave, you know? Because even though I'll end up with one of my brothers… I'll still be there for a while. Plus there's a lot of paperwork. And they probably won't let a nineteen year old adopt me, brother or not. They'd think he's unfit. Same with Riku. I'd be stuck there until I'm 18. And… I don't want to leave here. It has my childhood… Xion. And now I have you guys. If I went off with one of my brothers… I'd probably never see you guys again. We'd have to hide from my parents until I turn 18, and by then… Who knows? Two years is too long. I couldn't come back. Mother and Father would kill me. I could only talk to you guys, and that's not good enough, Ax." Roxas whispered.

"It's okay Rox… when… when you're 18 we'll tell the cops everything that happened. Two years isn't too long. We can make it two years." Axel comforted the crying boy. The door knob wiggled and Roxas threw Axel into the closet again.

**Axel Pov**

Axel waited to watch his boyfriend get beat up again.

Funny, he was even more furious now that they were officially going out.

And it didn't help that Roxas was sitting up against the crack, so that Axel couldn't see what was happening.

He sat in the dark, hiding his red hair from the crack. If Roxas's parents found him in there… There would be consequences.

He heard voices. Axel strained his ears, trying to hear whatever the person was saying.

Suddenly there was the sound of a hand hitting skin. Someone slapped Roxas. Axel gritted his teeth and tried to suppress the urge to jump out of the closet and save the blonde. He heard Roxas quietly whimper in pain. He sounded like a kicked puppy.

Well, that's kinda what he was.

Roxas started crying out and sobbing. Whoever was torturing him laughed. His Mother.

Axel listened to Roxas's pain. His hands were shaking from rage and fear that he couldn't save the blonde in time. He was just reaching up for the door handle so he could kill whoever was hurting him, when suddenly Roxas wasn't blocking the door. Axel could see.

And he seemed to have slumped over, passed out.

Axel waited until he heard footsteps ascending the stairs and the basement door close. Whoever it was left.

Axel carefully opened the door and looked at his blonde.

Roxas's arm was bleeding. A word was written in it.

"Mistake…" Axel trailed off, reading the bloody word carved into the pale flesh. It looked so wrong on Roxas, that was something that should be carved into someone else's arm, not his best friend. That was something that someone emo would carve into themselves. Not… someone like Roxas… Anyone but Roxas.

Axel grabbed one of the shirts from the closet and pressed it into the wound. He chewed his lip and tried to devise a plan on how to help him. This… wasn't right.

"Axel?" Roxas asked faintly.

"Yeah Rox?" Axel asked, relieved that Roxas could still talk.

"Get the first aid kit. It's under the floorboards near my bed. Left side." Roxas whispered.

Axel ran and grabbed it, replacing the floorboards and kneeling beside Roxas again.

"It'll be okay Rox…" Axel trailed off, freaking out to himself. He cleaned up the cuts and covered them with antibiotic stuff. Then he wrapped bandages around Roxas's arm and held his hand.

"Roxas…" Axel trailed off, wondering what to say.

"I… I'm sorry Ax." Roxas whispered.

"Why are you sorry?" Axel asked, confused.

"Because you had to see that. You should've left with Namine." Roxas replied, looking away.

"Hey Rox… look at me…" Axel said, trying to smile gently as he turned Roxas's face with his hand.

Roxas didn't jerk away.

The blue eyes met the green and Axel smiled for real.

"You didn't jump away." Axel said quietly, kissing the blonde boy's forehead. Roxas cringed a tiny bit at the touch, but smiled a tiny smile to himself.

"If I had left you wouldn't know about me. And I wouldn't know about Selphie." Axel reminded Roxas.

"Yeah." Roxas agreed.

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas was drained. Two beatings, a long nap, a boyfriend, two confessions, a forced girlfriend, and a new scar was a lot to take in a day. His arm hurt like hell, but he still felt happy. Maybe it's a side affect of being with Axel.

He thought about his imaginary house of cards. There were two sides. There was the castle half that was him and Axel. Then there was the rubble half of everything else.

He sighed, leaning against Axel. He was tired as hell. Maybe he could figure something out to get him out of church tomorrow so he could spend the day with Axel.

But Axel probably had better things to do…

"Hey Rox, do you want to go somewhere tomorrow?" Axel asked, as though he read Roxas's mind. Roxas smiled to himself.

"Yeah Ax. I think I figured out a way to get out of church." He said quietly, cradling his arm.

He was aware of the searing pain and of Axel's arms carrying him to his bed as he fell asleep.

He awoke the next morning, Sunday. His father was waking him up.

"Roxas, get your ass out of bed so we can go to church." His father growled. Roxas gulped quietly.

"Father…" He whispered. His father turned slightly and looked at the smaller blonde.

"I… I don't want to make you and Mother look disgraceful at church with my presence. God… wouldn't like it that you allow me to enter his house. I'm too disgusting to be there." Roxas said softly, hanging his head in fake shame.

His father was silent for a long moment.

"You are an abomination, not meant to be there. It's good that you finally realized it. You should have never entered a church to begin with." His father said harshly, glaring at the boy. Roxas still didn't meet his gaze.

"Boy, look at me when I speak to you!" His father demanded. Roxas looked up meekly, afraid of doing something wrong. Afraid his scheme wouldn't work.

"Yes Father." Roxas mumbled, bringing his eyes to meet his father's.

"You are never to go to church again, understood? Never! I will punish you if you ever set foot in one. If you ever find anyone desperate enough to marry you, then you can't go into a church to marry her. It would be sacrilegious. You would make a stain on that church!" The man ranted. Roxas smiled inside his head, this was going perfectly.

"Father, what about Mother? She might still want me to go." Roxas said in a kind of pleading tone, as if he was begging his father to let him come to church, as if this hadn't been his idea.

"She will not. Once I tell her what I just thought up, she'll never want to see you in a church again either." He sneered. Roxas hung his head again, but in defeat this time.

"Yes Father." Roxas said quietly, in a softly resigned tone. His father grinned in triumph and marched up the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

After a few minutes Roxas yanked his covers off and headed for the closet. He opened the door to see his favorite redhead looking sadly at him.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked worriedly, reaching out a hand to touch the redhead's face, but jumping just a little bit at the contact.

"What's wrong? Did you hear yourself, Rox? Did you even understand the things you said about yourself? And you act like it's _normal?_" Axel asked, shocked.

Roxas smiled sadly and stroked the taller boy's cheek.

"Ax… I don't believe what I say. I don't think I ever have. I always lie and pretend. That was no different. But I promise you, I didn't lie at all yesterday. I… really like you Axel. I don't want to lie to everyone, but I have to." Roxas said gently, tracing the redhead's upside-down purple tears. He kissed the boy's nose, twitching a tiny bit at the contact.

Something Axel always noticed.

"Rox… I understand that you were hurt, but why do you cringe all the time?" Axel asked, still confused.

"Hmm… It happened after Xion died. I… only let Cloud touch me after that. I rarely let Sora, even though he was my twin. I… was very depressed. It didn't help that every time I was touched by someone other than Cloud it hurt. My parents beating me or the same thing at school. But I hid it. Until… Vexen. He… Always wanted to be in contact with me, he'd stroke my cheek or pat my arm… then he'd… do horrible things to me. You… can't imagine it. You have to have lived it to understand." Roxas said quietly, his small smile fading.

The door upstairs slammed, signaling that Roxas's parents had left.

"So, what should we do today?" Roxas asked, lifting a corner of his mouth in a half smile.

"Well, we should probably see the others… Don't worry Rox, they won't disown you or anything. They might be a little shocked, and Demyx may burst into tears, but they won't think you're worthless or whatever your parents tell you." Axel promised.

"You sure?" Roxas asked, worried.

"Positive." Axel assured him, "I should probably go to Anastasia's house and talk to her so she knows that I didn't run away or anything." Axel said the last part more to himself.

"Kay, after that do you want to go out to eat or something?" Roxas asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Roxas… are you asking me on a date?" Axel asked, smiling widely at Roxas's steadily reddening face.

"I-erm… well, uh…" Roxas stuttered, looking at the floor.

All humor drained from Axel's face as he realized that was what Roxas did when his parents tricked him. Roxas tried to figure it out, then decided to just shut up and take whatever came next. Axel bit his lip lightly and gently reached up and grabbed the smaller boy's chin.

The blonde jumped violently and looked up, a shadow of fear crossing his eyes.

"I'd love to go on a date with you, Roxas Strife. But remember, the gentleman always pays for the lady's food." Axel joked, pointing to himself.

"Great, I'll get my money and we can go." Roxas grinned in return.

"Hey!" Axel yelled, messing up Roxas's hair. He looked into the bruised eyes.

"Hmm… I bet Namine has some makeup that can make it look like you aren't a panda." Axel thought out loud. Roxas nodded.

"Let's go, Ax! Where do you think they all are?" Roxas asked, grabbing some clothes and heading for the bathroom to change.

"I'll text them. Do you have any clothes that I'd fit in? I don't want to stop at Anastasia's before I go, she's a little far from where we're going." Axel asked.

"Yeah, Cloud leaves some of his clothes here. Last room, top floor." Roxas said as he closed the bathroom door.

"Thanks." Axel smiled, then realized that the blonde couldn't see him. He headed for the top floor and found the room, changing into some clothes that were perfect in height, but a bit too baggy for him. He shrugged and transferred all his belts and chains to this new pair of jeans.

"Let's go!" Axel exclaimed, leading the blonde out. Roxas smiled to himself as they headed to Namine's house to have her cover up his bruises.

***Hmm… Is it just me, or does this seem short…? ***


	13. The Dance

***Hey! It's Xoxoroxas, yet again. This is gonna be a nice little fluffy chapter, cuz I feel all bad for Roxas now. He had a shitty few…years. But now he's got epic friends and Axie! Yep, one little fluffy chapter before the REAL shit goes down. It's my birthday! Happy Birthday to me!***

**Roxas Pov**

They soon arrived at Namine's house. She threw the door open, wearing a short white nightgown.

"Hey guys. I figured since we were gonna hang out here I'd just wear my PJ's." She explained. Roxas nodded.

"I know we're a little early, but we were wondering if you could cover up Roxas's panda eyes." Axel said, lifting up Roxas's hair to show off the bruises.

"Okay." She smiled a little nervously.

Roxas could tell that she was trying to remain calm and act like it's normal.

She grabbed his hand (Roxas flinched) and led him to her room.

"Okay Rox, this might feel a bit odd, since it's makeup. Just… I don't know, don't rub your face too much. It's waterproof though. Pretty tough." Namine said, dabbing his face with some skin-colored liquid.

Finally she finished with that, and started brushing some powder over the now covered skin.

She brushed once more and stood back.

"Great! Look in the mirror!" She exclaimed, holding out a hand mirror.

He could barley notice the makeup, and the darkness of the bruises just looked like faint circles under his eyes.

"It looks awesome Namine, thanks!" He smiled, hugging her. She seemed a little startled that he actually hugged her, but hugged back.

She didn't notice him jump when she wrapped her arms around him.

"Okay, I think I hear the others downstairs." She said, smiling softly.

Roxas nodded, and they walked down together.

When they got to the top of the stairs they paused. They could hear Axel talking.

"I couldn't believe it either, Dem. I don't think he'll mind. No, I was surprised too. Psh, men don't cry, only girls like you do." They heard him tease. Apparently Demyx called him.

"No, Demyx, I did not. Yeah. I can't believe that either. No more surprises, okay? Bye." There was a click.

"What was that all about?" Namine asked.

"Demyx, by some unholy trick of the gods, is going out with Larxene. I don't think it'll last, but who knows? I don't even know how it happened, I thought Larx was asexual." Axel joked.

"It's because there's a dance tonight, dummy. We've been talking about it nonstop? You really don't pay attention at all do you?" Namine sighed, shaking her head.

"Really? Wow, I'd have thought he would ask Zexion." Axel said thoughtfully.

"He's talking this girl called… Yuffie I think? She knows Cloud…" Namine trailed off.

"Yeah, he talks about her sometimes. She's younger than them, like a freshman in college, and she is obsessed with ninjas." Roxas smiled.

"Ah, but who doesn't love them?" Axel asked.

"No, she's seriously obsessed, she has a black belt in three martial art things and she stole my left sock once. Not the shoe, only the sock." Roxas laughed, shaking his head.

"That's… a bit odd. Oh well, whatever makes them happy." Namine sighed.

"Hey Rox, why don't we go there instead of wherever we were going to go instead? Unless you had a plan?" Axel asked.

"Nah, the dance sounds more fun than going out to eat anyways. Plus Selphie probably won't be there." Roxas smiled.

"What does Selphie have to do with this?" Namine asked.

"Well, last night she forced herself upon my darling Roxas, accused him of being gay, threatened him, gave him a bag of coke, then told him that he was her boyfriend unless he wants his parents to find out about everything." Axel said in a half-joking tone.

"Yep, sums up my life. Looks cute and unthreatening, but turns out evil and more bitchy than Larxene." Roxas sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I dare you to find someone like that, I am sure I'm the bitchy-est." Larxene said, walking up from behind Roxas.

"Oh hi Larxene, of course you can come in, let me open the door for you." Namine said sarcastically.

"Oh right. Knock-knock."

"I'm here too! With Zexy! And your boyfriend!" Demyx exclaimed from the other room.

"Hey Dem!" Axel exclaimed, hugging the musician.

"Hey Ax! What's up Rox?" He asked, ruffling Roxas's hair.

"Nothing much. I'm gonna go to the dance with Axel tonight though." Roxas said, smiling softly.

"Daw… Roxas and Axel sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage!" Demyx sang.

"Dem, you should talk! Dem and Larx fucking in a bush! Larx on her back yelling 'Push, Demy, Push!'" Axel sang back.

"So, what's up with the parents?" Marluxia asked Roxas as Axel and Demyx sang at each other.

"Well, aside from the fact that they forbid me from going to church, not much." Roxas shrugged, "Oh wait, they forced me to have a girlfriend."

"What?" Zexion asked, looking up from his book.

"They're making me go out with Selphie. Plus she's a drug addict. And it's all my fault." Roxas sighed, kicking at the ground.

"Well, that won't last for long." Zexion said calmly, looking back to his book.

"Yeah, but… I dunno. Whatever. So, how'd you meet Yuffie?" Roxas asked Zexion.

"Not really sure. She randomly appeared in the library and asked me to go to the dance with her. Then she said 'pick me up at 5!' and ran off without waiting for my answer." Zexion shrugged.

"Well, that's Yuffie for you. I'm surprised she didn't ask Barret out, I heard she had a crush on him." Namine sighed, joining the conversation.

Everyone went to the living room to sit down after that, and Roxas and Axel claimed the two-person couch.

Roxas sat silently as everyone else argued and laughed. He was totally zoned out, just thinking about later that night.

"Earth to Roxas, come in Roxas, do you read me?" Axel asked, waving his hand in front of Roxas's face. It didn't work.

He grabbed Roxas's arm to shake him.

"Ow fuck!" Roxas hissed, looking around for the source of the pain.

"Oh shit, sorry. I forgot about that." Axel apologized.

"Ow… so did I for a minute there." Roxas grumbled.

"Want me to kiss it better?" Axel joked.

"What the hell are you talking about, Axel?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh right, your parents probably never did that for you. If you're a little kid and you get hurt, your parents offer to 'kiss it better'. They kiss it so that it doesn't hurt anymore." Axel explained as though Roxas was from a different planet.

"Oh. Okay." Roxas shrugged, holding out his arm. Axel kissed it.

"You two are so weird." Larxene sighed, shaking her head.

"Thanks, I take it as a compliment." Axel smirked.

"So, what were you thinking about?" Axel asked as Larxene and the others went back to their conversation.

"I dunno. You guys, I guess. I really want to see Sora some time. I miss him. I wonder what he's doing now…" Roxas sighed.

"Well, we can go visit him sometime." Axel suggested.

"Huh? When?" Roxas asked.

"We could skip school and take a train! It can't be that far away, and the trains go everywhere!" Axel exclaimed.

"Okay, I'll call him later and see where he lives." Roxas nodded.

"So, what are you going to wear to the dance?" Axel asked.

"I don't know… I don't really have that much to wear, just whatever Sora left behind when he ran away." Roxas shrugged.

"Well, Anastasia probably has some clothes. She always has extra everything." Axel assured Roxas.

A few hours later, Namine's mother came in.

"Oh hi dears! I need to grab Roxas for a second, then I'll go and let you guys do whatever you do." She smiled.

"Okay." Roxas said, following the blonde woman into the kitchen.

"Now, before you accuse me of anything, remember. I haven't told anyone." She said mysteriously.

"What?" Roxas asked, extremely confused.

"Namine came in yesterday, sobbing her head off, and called Marluxia, Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene over here right away. I was afraid that something bad had happened, so I listened in. I heard everything. Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked, reaching out her hand to touch Roxas's arm, then retracting it.

"I'm fine, Ms. F." Roxas said, looking up at her with pleading eyes, "But…"

"I'm not going to tell anyone. I… I haven't seen Axel this happy in a very long time. He's like a son to me, they all are like my kids. And when I found out what happened to Aqua, I mean Xion, I just… it was horrible. And what happened to you and your brothers… I'm so sorry." She said softly, shaking her head.

"Thanks for not telling. If my parents ever found out…" Roxas trailed off, looking down. He didn't know how to finish the sentence.

"I won't tell anyone. You have my word." She promised, holding out her pinkie. Roxas shook it with his own.

"Okay. Thanks Ms. Feather." Roxas smiled, walking back to his seat next to Axel.

"What was that all about?" The redhead asked, taking hold of Roxas's hand.

"Nothing much. She just told me that she hasn't seen you this happy in a very long time." The blonde said, smiling softly.

"Oh. Well… Yeah, she's right. And the dance is gonna start in two hours, so we better head to my house so that Anastasia can talk about how cute you are." Axel sighed, rolling his eyes.

"She… will?" Roxas asked, a bit scared.

"Don't worry, she won't pounce on you like Demyx would." The redhead joked.

"Hey! I heard that!" Demyx exclaimed from his seat in between Larxene and Zexion.

"Good, that means I don't have to repeat myself."

"Whatever. We should probably get going too, Larx takes FOREVER to get ready." Demyx groaned.

"Hey! Just because I care about my appearance…"Larxene trailed off, punching Demyx in the gut.

Roxas and Axel laughed as they walked out of the house. Axel had left his car here when he went with Namine to Roxas's house the day before, so they just climbed in and drove off.

"Rox, you seem a little pale, are you okay?" Axel asked, looking at the blonde from the corner of his eye.

"No. I'm not. But I will be." Roxas smiled.

"Hmm… what's wrong that I can fix?" Axel asked, knowing not to just ask 'what's wrong?'

"Nothing. I just… I think I'll leave soon." Roxas said quietly.

"But…your whole reason of staying was to STAY." Axel said, confused.

"By soon, I mean by next year. And I don't mean that I'll leave the city. I'm going to turn in my parents." Roxas clarified.

"That's a great idea, and I'll help you make a plan and all later, but tonight… can we focus on us? Just… don't think about either of our pasts. Let's just pretend we're two normal boys, going on a normal date, to a normal dance." Axel pleaded.

"Well, not normal. We're gay after all." Roxas joked.

"Exactly. So, here's Anastasia's house!" Axel exclaimed, pulling into the driveway of a bright red house.

Axel led Roxas in the front door, where he was greeted by a bright red living room, with red carpet, red walls, red furniture, and red-brown tables.

"Hmm… I get the feeling that Anastasia likes red." Roxas said in an overly sincere voice.

There was a gasp from behind him.

"Oh my God, Axel! He's so cute! Like Pooka!" Exclaimed a feminine voice.

"Hi Anastasia, no offense, but I think Roxas is cuter than your dog. Rox, this is Anastasia." Axel grinned, turning Roxas around to see a young woman with red hair (though not as bright as Axel's) smiling down at him. Dang, she was tall.

"Yes, definitely. Oh… I really want to stay and coo at your boy, but Demitri's waiting…" Anastasia trailed off, smiling softly.

"Have fun, Ania!" Axel called.

"Ania?" Roxas asked when Anastasia left.

"She didn't know who she was, so the people in the foster home named her Ania. When she found her family and got her memory back, she took back her old name. But Ania's easier to say than Anastasia." Axel explained as he led Roxas through the house.

They arrived at his bedroom, where there were posters all over. Mostly old 80's posters, but Roxas knew a few bands. His room was all black, with red, white, and green mixed in.

"Wow, it's like an emo Christmas." Roxas laughed, looking around.

"Well… yeah… The posters aren't mine though, they're Reno's. I couldn't stand to put them away, he loved them." Axel said, smiling at the Van Halen poster on his door.

"Okay. So… how're we gonna waste two hours?" Roxas asked.

"Well, I have a question for you." Axel said.

"Yeah?" Roxas prompted.

"What were you dreaming about last night? You were… tossing and turning and screaming." Axel admitted.

"Oh." Roxas said darkly.

"You… don't have to tell me." Axel said quietly, looking at Roxas's expression.

"No… I was just… reliving some days from Twilight Town. With Vexen. And somewhere near the end, Xion was dying again. I always have nightmares like that, it doesn't matter." Roxas shrugged, trying not to show the emotion building up inside him.

But Axel noticed.

"Roxas… you don't have to hide things from me. I'm here for you. Nothing you will ever say will make me think less of you or not love you. Just… please Rox… accept our help." Axel begged.

"I can't, Ax. What could I accept? I can't do anything!" Roxas exclaimed confusingly.

"What did I say, Rox? No past today. Just us. No interruptions, no parents, no siblings. Just… us. Two semi-normal boys, going on a date. And hopefully not getting teased at the dance. Our school is surprisingly accepting though, so whatever." Axel shrugged.

"Okay Ax. So, you said something about clean clothes?"

An hour and a half later, Roxas was dressed in a white hoodie with a silver eagle, a black shirt, and some faded jeans. Axel was wearing a short-sleeved red shirt with flames, and black jeans.

Roxas smiled as he spiked his hair like it normally was and Axel spiked his. Wow… he must go through tons of hair gel…

They got to the dance a little while after everyone had started to arrive. Larxene and Demyx were already there, along with Yuffie and Zexion. They said that Namine and Marluxia would be a little late because of something or another.

Soon, Axel convinced Roxas to dance with him. The two boys found a dark corner where no one would notice them and danced. It was a slow song, but Roxas didn't really pay attention to the lyrics.

Until Axel started singing with them.

"Did some things you can't speak of. But at night you'll live it all again." He whispered into the blonde's ear as they swayed.

"You wouldn't be shattered on the floor now, if only you had seen what you know now, then." He continued to murmur.

Roxas smiled to himself, he loved Axel's voice.

The disk skipped (the school had a horrible sound system) and Axel stopped singing for a second so he could realize where they were in the song.

"It's alright, just wait and see; your string of lights is still bright to me, oh. Who you are is not where you've been. You're still an innocent." He sang again.

The disk skipped yet again, and Axel was quiet for another moment.

"Who you are is not what you did. You're still an innocent." Axel barley mumbled, yet Roxas could still hear it. He was quiet after that, even though the song had stopped skipping.

"You know, that song reminds me of you." Axel whispered out of nowhere.

"It does?" Roxas asked, confused.

"Yeah. Most of the lyrics remind me of you. Kairi loves this song. She told me at least five times that it's her favorite." Axel said, smiling softly.

"Remember, no past, no siblings." Roxas teased. Axel fake glared.

"Okay Rox. Oh, I love this song!" Axel exclaimed. Last Friday Night had come on.

Through the rest of the night Axel taught Roxas how to dance, and they had tons of fun. Until Roxas realized that his parents would be at home by now. And that he WASN'T at home right now.

So they ran out into the parking lot. It was pouring rain.

"Wait!" Axel exclaimed, grabbing Roxas's wrist. He turned around.

"What?"

"I always wanted to kiss someone in the rain." Axel smirked, leaning down into Roxas's lips for a quick kiss. Roxas threw his arms around the taller boy's neck and kissed back, moving his lips slowly.

They broke apart for air, and then Roxas remembered about his parents.

"Shit! They're gonna kill me. Metaphorically." He added when he saw Axel's eyes flash at the word "kill".

"Okay. Let's get you home then." Axel said, his voice a little dark.

"Ax, I'll be fine. I lived with them for sixteen years without them killing me, and Cloud rebelled all the time. Nothing too bad'll happen." Roxas assured the redhead, smiling.

"That's not it. I know they won't kill you. I'm afraid they'll hurt you." Axel admitted.

They were still standing in the pouring rain, getting drenched.

"Ax… I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Remember, no family stuff." Roxas joked again.

"I'm starting to regret that rule." Axel sighed.

Roxas suddenly reached up and grabbed Axel's collar. He pulled the surprised redhead down into a long kiss, licking the redhead's lips for access. Axel, still shocked, opened his mouth and let Roxas's tongue explore. Roxas smiled lightly and broke the kiss.

"How's that for a kiss in the rain?" He asked, a very Axel-like smirk on his lips.

"Hey! You stole my smirk! Give it back!" Axel exclaimed, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss on Roxas's soft lips. When he pulled back, the smirk was back in it's rightful place, and Roxas had a dreamy-ish smile playing on his lips.

"C'mon, lover boy. Let's get you home." Axel said, his smirk falling the tiniest bit as he pulled Roxas into his car.

***Well, do you like it? It's fluffy with a few dark (unintentional) undertones. That's why I put in the rule about "no past". Funny how Axel always breaks it… Sorry, this was another short chapter. Anyways, the dark abuse will be back next chapter! And soon there shall be a visit with Sora!***


	14. The Gun

***Hey! New chapter! Yay! Sorry about how VERY short it is. I have NO time lately.***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas, with Axel's help, climbed through Cloud's window. He looked down at the redhead.

"Later!" He whisper called.

"Bye!" Axel called back, walking away.

Roxas crept back to his room, unnoticed.

Or so he thought.

When he got to his room and undressed, his parents stormed down the stairs.

"Boy! Where in the name of hell were you?" His mother demanded, slapping his face.

"I was at Selphie's house." Roxas replied immediately.

"Oh really? Well then, I'll just have to have you call her." She laughed, grabbing a phone.

Roxas still knew her number from when they were kids.

He gulped and dialed. He prayed that his plan would work.

When it started ringing he put it on speaker phone.

"Hey Selph! It's Roxas." He said, not letting his nervousness get into his voice.

"Hey Roxas!" She said giggling.

"Did you remember to pack the cards?" Roxas asked. It was their code for 'Parents listening, play along.'

"Of course I did, Rox." She said.

"I had a lot of fun at your house. I'm still leading the poker competition, 20 to 13." He said happily.

"Nuh Uh! It's only 18 to 14!" She exclaimed.

"No, I'm the smart one, remember?" He teased.

"Whatever Roxas. The cards are packed." She said. It was code for 'I mean what I'm about to say'.

"I miss you. We should hang out like that more, without stuff bothering us." She said. Roxas could hear her smile.

"Maybe tomorrow, Selph. Goodnight!" He smiled sadly.

"Night." Click.

"Well, it seems that you aren't lying, for once. But if we find out that you were…" His mother trailed off, sneering at her son.

"Go to bed, I am going to work early tomorrow. Your mother is going to a church retreat, it'll last the week. And is all your homework done for school tomorrow?" His father demanded. Roxas nodded.

But there was no school tomorrow. It was a teacher convention day, or something like that. But Roxas hadn't told them that. He intended to hang out with his new friends.

But now… maybe he'd hang out with his old ones too.

The next day Roxas's mother stormed down the stairs at 3:17 in the morning.

"Boy, I'm leaving in an hour and I thought I'd give you something to remember me by." She said, laughing evilly.

Roxas gulped, shivering slightly. His mother was the worst, at least he knew what to expect with his father.

"Here, boy. I brought you a present." She cackled, drawing closer to the bed. She set a bag on his lap and shone a flashlight on it.

She took a gun. One bullet.

She grabbed him by the front of his nightshirt and began hitting his face, until both his eyes were swollen shut, his nose was bleeding a lot, and his teeth had bitten into his lips.

Axel wouldn't like that.

Roxas nearly burst out laughing at the thought, though he knew that Axel wouldn't think that it was funny at all.

"Have a nice week, Roxas!" She said, smiling widely.

She kicked his stomach with her high heel and left.

Then he remembered the gun on his bed.

How many times in 6th grade had he wished for one of these? It would make death so much more painless.

But Roxas smiled as he remembered his reason for not wanting to kill himself today.

Axel.

He smiled even wider, though it made his mouth bleed faster.

He could take the pain.

But how was he supposed to hide this from the school?

He's just say something about getting mugged if anyone asked.

But he doubted anyone would.

He sighed and shoved the gun under the floorboards. It might come in handy sometime later.

It might.

Roxas jumped out of bed, and without another thought to the gun went to see Namine. At this rate he'd need to buy his own makeup.

Then he'd go see Selphie.

And maybe Axel.

He smiled to himself.

If Selphie just went back to normal, then things would be better.

If only.


	15. Twist

***Hey! It's Roxy. Here's a shout out to fallingup, because she (or he) doesn't have an actual account, so I can't say thanks for the review. This chapter is hereby dedicated to Majestic Stardust, because she (yes, for sure a she) made me a picture on DeviantArt! I shall put it on my profile, but if you want to look it up right away, it's called Long Lost Xion.

Thanks so much for the picture, Majestic! I wuvel you!***

***I noticed something! A mistake on my part, actually. In chapter 9 The Sleepover, Axel says that his brother, Reno, owns a tattoo parlor and stuff. Well, my cover story to cover my ass for making a mistake, is that Reno USED to own a tattoo parlor before he died in the war, and his friend Rude took over, and that's where Axel got his tattoos. Yes. That was my plan all along, totally.***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas (after a thorough makeover by Namine) was standing on Selphie's doorstep, waiting with a box of nerds and a deck of cards.

He waited a bit, thinking over all the things that could go wrong.

Then he rang the doorbell and held his breath.

Selphie answered the door.

"Hey Roxas!" she smiled.

"Hey Selphie." He said a bit quietly.

"Aww, none of that. You're supposed to hug me, just like in grade school!" Selphie exclaimed.

Roxas did, smiling as he remembered all the times he had come over to her house to play cards. They loved them, they played go fish, old maid, poker, rummy, and when they were up to it, they built houses of cards.

But now what used to be a childhood game symbolized so much more for Roxas.

***Flashback***

_Roxas came over to Selphie's, like he did every non-school day. He rang the doorbell and waited, holding his very old pack of cards._

"_Hey Ven! What's up?" She asked as she opened the door._

"_Nothing much. We just saw each other yesterday." He said quietly. He was quiet even as a child._

"_Silly! I mean what did you do after that?" She giggled as they walked to her living room. She had a baggy of nerds open and he grabbed a few._

"_Well, I played with Aqua and Terra." He shrugged. "We played Harry Potter. But I always end up playing Ron." He pouted._

"_So, what're we gonna play today?" Selphie asked, shuffling the deck._

"_Why don't we build a house of cards?" Roxas asked._

"_Okay!" She exclaimed. She pulled out her deck of shiny new cards and started stacking. Roxas made his own house with his old cards._

_After a few moments of concentrating silence Selphie giggled yet again._

"_Hmm?" Roxas hummed, still looking at his house._

"_You're so weird, Ven! You concentrate so hard, and your house looks so neat and orderly, even though your deck is bad… And when it falls because your cards are bad, you just retry again." She laughed._

_Roxas looked at his cards with different eyes. He saw what she meant. Even though his cards bent funny and were stained and weak, his house looked better than hers, simply because he tried hard._

_And whenever he built he thought of his life, something he had done even before Selphie had said that._

_But now, he started comparing his whole life to a house of cards._

_And two weeks before Xion died, Selphie presented Roxas with a new deck of cards. She stuck a bow on it._

"_Happy Birthday!" She exclaimed._

"_Huh?" he asked, looking at the cards funny._

"_It's your birthday, dummy." Selphie said._

"_It is?" Roxas asked, looking at the calendar on Selphie's wall. It was._

"_Silly, you don't remember when your own birthday is." She said, shaking her head and smiling._

_So that was why Roxas's mother had hit him and Sora especially hard that morning._

***End Flashback***

"Whoa, is that the same deck I gave you all those years ago?" Selphie asked.

"Of course, Selph." Roxas replied, placing another card on his house.

This house of cards was WAY more stable than his imaginary one.

She unexpectedly hugged him, causing most of his house of cards to fall. Plus some more fell when he cringed.

"Sorry! I just thought you would've thrown it away!" She exclaimed.

"Selph… I would never do that… you've been acting so weird, you should really stop doing those drugs." He said very quietly.

"I know… I know they're bad… but if they're so bad, then why were you doing them?" She demanded.

"Well… it wasn't my choice, Selph. Don't you know what happened at my old school?" Roxas asked confused.

"All I heard was that Vexen raped you." Selphie answered, confusion lacing her voice.

"That's not all he did. He gave me heroine against my will. Well, not 100% against my will. He had been raping me, telling me that if I told anyone, he'd tell my parents some lie about me so they'd beat me. But after he gave me the drugs… It didn't hurt as much… I felt like I was flying… But it was bad… I know it was, I know that it changed me, and that I wasn't myself when I was on it, but I got addicted. I needed it. But I finally quit a bit after I got here." Roxas explained so softly that Selphie had to hold her breath to hear.

"Oh my God… And… Wait… why do you know that I knew?" She asked, confused again.

"You threatened to tell my friends all about it." Roxas whispered.

"Oh my God… I'm an asshole." Selphie gasped.

"I'll have to disagree, you're pretty nice normally, but when you're high you're an asshole." Roxas said, smiling slightly.

"My God… Rox, you have to help me quit!" She exclaimed.

"Of course. We'll flush your stash. And we'll pay Setzer not to give you any. But… uh… you'll have to pay. I'm saving my money for food." Roxas said.

"Oh right, Kairi told me all about everything. I'll give Setzer all my money… actually, I'll set up a bank account… and I'll tell my parents to put a lock on it so that I can't get it. It's a plan!" she exclaimed.

"So, would you like some nerds?" Roxas asked, holding out the box.

"You remembered!" She exclaimed, hugging him again. (causing him to jump and knock over the rest of his cards)

Later, Roxas said goodbye to Selphie and headed to Axel's house.

He smiled to himself as he knocked on Axel's door and it swung open hurriedly.

"Rox! I was worried about you! You said you'd be here an hour ago- I sound like a girl." Axel realized mid-sentence.

"Don't worry, it's cute." Roxas smiled. He closed the door behind him and kissed his boyfriend.

"Mmm, you taste good." Axel said, licking his lips after they broke apart.

"I went to Selphie's house. We ate nerds and played card games." Roxas shrugged.

"Whoa, wait… I thought we didn't like Selphie." Axel said, confused.

"We do, we don't like stoner Selphie. Real Selphie was my best friend when we were little." Roxas said, smiling slightly.

"She was?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. I went over to her house every day during the summer, when our parents told us to get the fuck out of the house before they killed us." Roxas shrugged.

"That's… oddly normal in a fucked up way…" Axel said, frowning.

Roxas kissed the redhead's lips softly.

"I know. But it's not like I can change it." Roxas said, his breath brushing on the redhead's lips.

"Roxas… I know we've only been going out a few days… and that we've only known each other a few weeks… but… I think I love you." Axel whispered, hugging the blonde.

Roxas didn't flinch.

"I think I love you too. You're the only person in the world that can touch me without me flinching. Most of the time." Roxas amended.

"Well, seems like I have to give you two the sex talk, seeing as you don't have good parents, Roxas." Anastasia burst in.

"You told her?" Roxas asked, shocked.

"Well, I told her a bit about your parents. That's it." Axel whispered back.

After a long and very awkward conversation with Anastasia, the two boys headed for Roxas's house. Roxas's father wasn't supposed to be home until late, so they had time.

Roxas stuffed his hands into his jeans and hit a piece of cold metal. Axel's earring.

"Oh, here. You dropped this at my house a while ago." Roxas said, holding out the diamond stud.

"Really? I thought I lost it at school." Axel muttered and he pocketed it. "Where'd you find it?"

"My Mother found it in the laundry room." Roxas said quietly as they stopped outside Roxas's house.

"OhmyGod, I'm so sorry!" Axel apologized, hugging the blonde, who barley flinched, and rocked back and forth.

"I'm fine, Ax. Nothing to worry about." Roxas grinned.

"I should be more careful about this stuff. But I didn't know back then. And-" Anything else Axel would've said was cut off by Roxas's lips as he kissed the redhead firmly.

"I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"Okay." Axel said a bit worriedly.

Roxas walked inside.

To see his father watching everything from the window.

Well, Fuck.


	16. Homeless

***Muahahahaha! Evilness! Hah! Now, Roxas's Father knows about Roxas being gay! Oh come on, anyone could see that coming, it was like watching a Semi come down a highway. I'd like to give another shout out to Majestic Stardust, because I almost never read these things at the top, so I think there's a higher probability of people actually looking at the picture on DeviantArt (Long Lost Xion) if I say it again. Enjoy! Review!***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas wasn't stupid.

When he saw his father's face when he walked in the door he turned around and ran back out.

He heard pounding footsteps signaling his father following.

Thankfully, Axel was only a few feet away.

"Holy Fuck, Axel, RUN!" Roxas yelled, tearing down the street as he ran. The redhead easily caught up with him.

"Whose house is nearby?" Roxas wheezed, gasping for air as they sprinted.

"Well, we're headed for Zexion's. It's just a few blocks ahead." Axel returned, also out of breath.

Roxas didn't even check over his shoulder. He didn't have time, he was running too fast.

Axel guided them to Zexion's house, and without knocking, they ran in and slammed the door.

"What the fuck?" Zexion asked.

He was currently on the couch, shirtless with Demyx.

"We'll talk about this little scene later," Axel said hurriedly. "What's up, Rox?" He asked.

Roxas gasped for air.

"Well. I got inside. After I kissed Axel goodbye. And my Father was there. He. Had been. Looking. Out the window." Roxas explained in short, out of breath sentences.

"Holy Fuck." Axel commented.

"And he gave me this death glare. So I got out of there. As fast as I could." Roxas continued, getting some of his air back.

"So, wait… you sprinted from Roxas's house to Zexion's?" Demyx asked.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded.

"Holy shit, you should go into the Olympics." Demyx said.

"Well, the runners there aren't scared shitless, are they?" Axel asked sarcastically.

"So… are you just planning on staying here? Because you can." Zexion asked.

"No, I just need a phone. And maybe a place to stay for the night." Roxas said.

"Here." Zexion handed Roxas his phone and walked somewhere else with Demyx.

Roxas dialed Sora.

"Hey, Sora here! Riku, stop doing that, I don't want to moan on the phone!" Sora exclaimed.

"I don't even care about that right now Sor, Dad found out that I'm not straight!" Roxas rushed out.

"Holy… Rox, is that you?" Sora asked.

"No, it's George Washington. My father found out I'm not straight, AND that I cut down a cherry tree. Yes, it's fucking Roxas!" He sobbed, crying now.

"Whoa, you're never this mad, Rox." Axel said, truthfully a bit afraid.

"Oh my God Roxas, you're never this mad." Sora said, sounding scared.

Roxas laughed hysterically.

"Can you come and get me? I'm at… where am I?" He asked Axel.

"96 Zem Street." Axel said.

"96 Zem Street." Roxas repeated.

"Got it. We'll get you by tomorrow. Hold tight Rox." Sora said as he hung up.

"Oh my God, they're gonna kill me." Roxas moaned, still crying.

Axel wrapped his arms around the sobbing boy and held him. Roxas flinched, but allowed it.

"No, they won't. You just won't go back there." Axel said, smiling.

"No! I have to go back! I've got to get my stuff! And… maybe I can explain it somehow… I don't know… Maybe I could tell them that Sora dyed his hair blonde and pretended to be me…" Roxas trailed off, trying to think of a good idea.

"We can get your stuff later, Rox. Just don't go back there, please!" Axel begged, squeezing Roxas.

"What'd we miss?" Demyx asked, re-entering the room.

There was a pounding on the door.

"Fuck!" Roxas hissed. He dove behind the sofa as Zexion (with Demyx attached to him) opened the door.

His father was at the door.

The blonde man glared at Zexion and Demyx.

"Have you seen a blonde boy run by here?" He asked through clenched teeth.

Roxas was shivering behind the couch.

Demyx fleetingly glanced at the couch and Roxas's Father looked there too.

Roxas's heel was sticking out.

Roxas's father made his way to the couch, pushing past Demyx and Zexion.

"Hey, this isn't your house. What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Axel demanded, blocking the man's path.

Roxas's father reached out and slapped him across the face, so hard it made him take a step back.

"Hold your tongue when speaking to an elder. I'm just here to collect my _son_." He hissed, glaring at the couch.

Roxas shivered harder.

"Hey, asshole, get out of my boyfriend's house before I call the cops." Demyx said angrily.

"You can't hide here forever, Roxas. I WILL find you." Roxas's father threatened as he walked out.

The door slammed and Axel appeared behind the couch next to the shaking boy.

Roxas's eyes were wide and unfocused. He jumped and came back to Earth when Axel grasped his hand.

"He's gonna kill me…" Roxas trailed off, still not entirely focused.

"Well… yeah… he probably is." Demyx commented.

"Dem, I don't think that's helping." Zexion murmured.

"Right, sorry. I can't believe he slapped Axel like that!" Demyx exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Sorry about that." Roxas apologized to Axel.

"It's fine. Do you want me to call the cops?" Axel asked worriedly as the red mark on his cheek became clearer.

"NO!" Roxas yelled, "No…" he repeated, softer this time.

"Why not?" Axel asked, confused.

"Because I… I don't know… I just want to go back to Twilight Town and sit on the Clock Tower." Roxas sighed, holding his head in his hands.

"Well, we can go there sometime. Just relax, Rox. You'll be fine." Axel reassured him.

"Okay." Roxas sighed.

"Well, this was interesting. I think I'll call Areith and tell her that you're not going to school tomorrow." Zexion said.

"No! I'm going to school… he can't get me at school." Roxas muttered.

"But you told Sora to pick you up here." Axel reminded him.

"Well yeah, but it'll take him forever to get here. All school day. Because he went to Destiny Islands. He has to take a car, then a boat, then a train, then another car, then a bus just to get to Hollow Bastion." Roxas explained.

"Okay. But just… stick with Selphie during your free hour, okay?" Axel asked, unsure weather to trust Selphie, but knowing that he didn't have a choice.

The next day they all went to school, as usual. There was no sign of Roxas's father on the walk there.

Roxas sighed as he sat beside Demyx in Math.

"So, do you really like Axel?" Demyx asked as they sat down.

"Yeah, I think I love him." Roxas said, smiling quietly.

"Think? Don't you know what love is?" Demyx asked astonished.

Roxas shrugged, "Not really, no."

"Well… Hmm… ask Namine to explain it." He said as Cid walked in and started scribbling equations on the board.

After math, Roxas walked to Science, where once again Mushu was running wild around the room while Mulan tried to capture him.

"Mushu! I told you not to eat that!" she exclaimed as Roxas shook his head and walked to his seat next to Axel.

"We're going to be working with fire today!" Axel exclaimed, looking longingly at the matches in front of him.

"No, bad Axel. Don't touch them until Mulan says so." Roxas scolded.

"Yes Mother." Axel said sarcastically. Roxas smiled at him.

Mulan then chose that moment to wrestle Mushu into his cage and begin teaching.

An hour later, Roxas left the classroom with three burns and scorched sleeves, but he never had so much fun. They got to explode stuff!

Axel laughed at the smile on Roxas's face as they headed for homeroom.

Roxas looked around quickly before he sat, and Axel noticed.

"Still worried?" he asked.

"How can I not be? You know what he did to Xion." Roxas answered quietly.

"Yeah. So, when's Sora supposed to pick you up?" Axel asked.

"About five." Roxas said sadly.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked.

"I'll have to leave! I won't get to see you guys!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Tell the cops! I heard Zack is training to be a cop, tell him. And if you go missing, tell him to report it." Axel said.

"That… is a brilliant idea… Well… okay." Roxas agreed.

"Thank God. You better get to English. Later Rox!" Axel smirked.

"Bye Ax."

Roxas walked to English, where no one spoke the entire period. Even Zexion or Belle, everyone was too into their book. After that Roxas said goodbye to Zexion and headed to History, with Larxene and Demyx.

"So, finally decided to show up, did you?" Larxene asked as Roxas came in a bit late. He had been too deep into his book to hear the warning bell.

"Yeah. But I won't be here for long, Larx." Roxas sighed as he got out his thick book.

"Why?" She asked, looking confused.

"My dad found out I was gay, and I told you that they kicked Sora, my brother, out because he was gay. They'd KILL me if they found out." Roxas muttered.

"You're gay?" Larxene asked.

"Larx, get with the times! He's been going out with Axel!" Demyx said.

Larxene punched him.

"No one ever tells me a freakin thing! Whatever, I'm glad you're out of the closet, Rox. But it sucks that you have to leave." She said.

Suddenly, Captain Jack rushed in and started the lesson, very drunk.

Then, it was lunch. Roxas sort of zoned out the whole time, and he didn't eat anything.

"Hey, your hair's not spiked." Marluxia commented, shaking Roxas from his daydreams.

"Oh, well… I was at Zexion's house and I kinda forgot it." Roxas explained.

"Why were you at Zex's?" Marluxia asked.

"My dad found out I'm gay and he chased me away from my house. Actually, he wanted to catch me and kill me, but that didn't happen." Roxas said.

"How are you so calm about this?" Larxene demanded.

"He wasn't calm last night. He was freaking out." Axel commented.

"Whatever. Lunch is over, let's go to art, Rox." Namine said, smiling.

Roxas nodded and followed the blonde girl to the art room.

He continued his drawing of whatever it was that he didn't know. By the end of class, Namine took a peek over his shoulder.

"A house of cards?" She asked.

He nodded absently. Yes, that's what it was. A house of cards. With his old deck, the cards that were turning yellow and bending. There would be some cards on the table, as though they fell off. And some in a stack, waiting to be put on.

Perfect to describe his life.

Okay, now Roxas was being emo. But can you blame him?

Anyways, Roxas headed to the library, it was free hour.

Suddenly, he got called to the office. Right after he waved to Selphie.

He gulped and walked slowly to the office. Blonde hair was peeking over the window.

Roxas peeked around the corner and felt a flood of relief.

Just Cloud.

What was Cloud doing here?

***Wow, I'm on a roll.***


	17. Taken

***Hey! What is Cloud doing here? What about Roxas's dad? And why on Earth does Mushu keep eating science experiments? Read on!***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas walked slowly into the office, silently watching Cloud and Areith laugh and talk. Cloud seemed a bit stressed though.

Roxas waved to Areith, and she looked to him.

"Roxas! Hey! Okay, Cloud came to pick you up. I'm _legally_ not allowed to do this, but I figure that you'll be safer with him than your father." Areith shrugged.

"Thanks Areith, I owe you one." Cloud said, smiling more easily now.

"Oh, by now you owe me a million." She teased.

"Let's go, Rox!" Cloud exclaimed.

They got to Cloud's car and he looked sadly at Roxas.

"So, Sora called and told me to pick you up. What happened?" He asked.

"Father saw me kissing my… boyfriend. Axel." Roxas said quietly.

"You're gay too?" Cloud asked, confused.

"Yeah, well, bi. But still… Father saw. So I ran as fast as I could. He followed, plus be barged into my friend's house, and he almost got me. But I haven't seen him today." Roxas explained.

"So you think." His Father said from the backseat.

"Holy shit! Cloud!" Roxas yelled.

"I'm sorry Roxas. I'm so sorry. They got Tifa. He was going to shoot Tifa!" Cloud yelled.

Roxas shook his head in confusion. What was going on? 

Cloud pulled the car over. Their Father gave him a key-ring. He got out, but before he did that he patted Roxas's back firmly.

"I'll save you." He signed in sign language.

Sign language was mandatory at the Catholic school they had attended here.

"WTF?" Roxas signed back.

"I'm sorry." Cloud whispered.

"Move, boy." Roxas's father spat at Cloud as he elbowed him out of the way.

Cloud got out of the car and Roxas's father got into the driving seat. He then handcuffed Roxas and locked the doors with a child safety lock.

Roxas mentally sighed and looked straight ahead.

He couldn't blame Cloud. He had told Roxas that their father was going to kill Tifa.

But still, couldn't he have thought of something better?

They arrived at their house, but only for a short few minutes. In that time, Roxas was still sitting in the car.

He lifted the car mat (his father NEVER moved it) and put his two necklaces under it.

He knew that no matter how long this whole thing would take, his father would never sell the car. It was his pride and joy. Even if somehow he won the lottery or something, he would keep the car.

He sighed again and sat up straight. His father walked out of the house, a backpack in his arms.

Without a word, they drove off.

After about two hours, Roxas decided to speak.

"Where are we going?" He asked quietly.

His father slapped him upside the head.

There was silence for two more hours.

"Where are we going?" Roxas repeated.

His father pulled over to a gas station and turned to the boy, who was looking back at him defiantly.

"We are going to the most horrible place you can imagine." He smirked.

"This was mother's idea." Roxas stated. He knew that his father would never concoct a plan that involved driving his baby for over four hours.

"It was." His father agreed.

"Fine." Roxas sighed, looking straight ahead once again, never allowing himself to fall asleep.

Once again, there was silence. Roxas watched as the sun sank low over the horizon.

Axel would be setting things on fire.

Sora would be hysteric.

Riku would be trying to calm Sora.

Namine would be pacing.

Larxene would pretend not to care.

Zexion would read a sentence five times before he got the meaning. Then he'd put down his book and just sit.

Demyx would babble until Larxene shut him up.

Marluxia would over-water his plants.

It was silly, how well Roxas knew their reactions would be. He had only known them a week, after all.

But he remembered everything Xion had told him. Every word.

He sighed when he thought of the loose floorboards him their house, the ones that hid all his treasures.

One day, he'd pry ALL of them up and see what he left behind last time.

But, that's only if he gets out of this alive.

And he doubted that.

Roxas then realized that the car had stopped moving. He turned to face his father, only to see the man wasn't there.

Wow, Roxas had really been zoned out.

He looked out the windshield, but it was too dark to really make out anything. He saw three figured moving around, but they were far away.

Still, that worried him.

He dug his hands into his pockets and found that he had his iPod.

"Yes!" He whispered, victorious. He would have to thank Cloud again for that gift.

It had texting. FREE texting. He grinned to himself and started typing furiously.

Good thing you can still text with handcuffs on.

"Axel! Dad kidnapped me! I have no idea where the fuck I am, but I heard that iPods and cell phones can tell where people are. Call the police. Tell them… everything. Okay? Don't text back. I'm going to see if I can keep this thing somehow." Roxas wrote.

There was a quiet ding as the iPod sent the message.

Roxas shivered. It was freezing.

Then the three figures in the darkness began to come closer to the car.

His father was one of them. The other two Roxas couldn't make out, but one looked familiar.

And that scared Roxas.

His father wrenched open the door and he saw who the two other figures were.

His mother.

And Vexen.

Roxas swallowed hard and his heart began to beat fast.

His mother yanked him out of the car by his bound hands and threw him to the ground.

She grabbed him by the hair and lifted him off the dirt road.

"You should've used that gun, you little shit. I should've killed you when I had the chance." She spat at him.

Well, it's not like Roxas could make his punishment get any worse.

He spat in her face.

She screamed, enraged, and slapped him across the face, the sound ringing out across the empty space.

"You son of a bitch!" She screamed.

"You realize that you just insulted yourself, right?" He asked.

Well, if he was going to die, he'd have a little fun before he went.

She motioned for Roxas's father to come over.

He punched the smaller blonde in the stomach.

That sound echoed across the empty road also.

"I don't regret this." His mother hissed, handing him over to Vexen.

All Roxas could see of Vexen was his creepy smile. He pulled something out of his pocket that shone in the moonlight.

A needle.

Roxas's eyes widened in fear. If he was right… they weren't intending to kill him.

Shit.

They were giving him to Vexen.

Vexen shoved the syringe deep into Roxas's arm and depressed the plunger.

A wonderful feeling coursed through Roxas.

And somehow he was in a different car.

Driving away.

***Muahahahaha, don't kill me.***


	18. Saved

***Hey! I had this chapter done for a long time, that's why I'm putting it up so soon. I hope you enjoy it. Here you go! Okay, this chapter is a little bit M, but if you've read THIS far, you'll be fine. And It's not too bad… and you kinda need to read it to understand… So don't kill me Reese.***

Roxas sat under the stairs.

He giggled.

Under the stairs. It's like Harry Potter, get it?

No?

Oh well. The heroine was wearing off, Roxas could feel it.

And after it wore off came the pain.

The horrible pain.

All over. If they dissected the blonde, the insides of his lungs would even be bruised.

He couldn't move his left hand, and his eyes let out even more tears when he moved his right.

He doubted that he could stand, had there been enough room.

When he drew breath his body shook with pain.

Every time he exhaled a pathetic noise came from his swollen mouth.

His arms were bruised with tracks running down them.

'How could Mother do this? She HATES gay people, and yet… She gave me to Vexen… and he lets his friends…' Roxas's thoughts trailed off as he thought of the night before.

Or was it a few hours ago?

Weeks?

He could never tell. Time moved oddly now.

But he knew that there was someone looking for him.

Someone with red hair.

Someone he envisioned knocking down the tall door.

Someone he imagined sweeping him into his arms.

Someone who would take him away.

And the thoughts made him smile, despite the fact that smiling hurt his face even more.

Even more than the man thrusting into his mouth last night.

Then Roxas's chest would hurt.

Like he needed another thing to be in pain.

What if the redhead DID find him?

Would he be disgusted?

Would it hurt him?

Would he not like Roxas anymore?

What was the redhead's name again?

It had been so long.

Roxas tried to think clearly, but it hurt his head.

There was a little blonde girl.

And a tall pink-haired guy.

An emo-ish short boy.

And a guy with the weirdest mullet thing.

A girl with hair-antennas.

A girl with black hair… no… blue hair. Was it the same girl?

A boy with black hair… or brown… yes, he had brown. What was his name?

A tall man with spiky blonde hair… like his father's… but he was nothing like the evil man.

And then there was the redhead, with porcupine hair.

Soft though, and silky.

He remembered something about a house of cards.

Well, that was gone now.

There was no way he could live through this.

He gave up.

This was it.

'Xion! That's her name.' Roxas though, thinking of the blue/black-haired girl.

'I'm sorry Xion. I… promised you something, but I can't keep it. I just… wish I could remember…' Roxas thought, looking up at the concrete sky.

"Slut! You little shit! You've got a guest!" Vexen yelled, laughing.

Vexen had his way with him that first horrible night. That was almost too far back for Roxas to remember. Then he let his friends… visit, in exchange for money and drugs.

Roxas ignored the protests from his body and tried to disappear into the wall.

The door opened and Roxas looked up to see the outline of a tall man.

Roxas couldn't see him. His tears blurred his vision. Plus the man's front was hidden by shadows.

Roxas swallowed with his raw throat protesting.

"Please." He whispered, something he always did, "Please don't… I… I don't want to…" He trailed off, his eyes crossing. He swayed slightly and cringed further into the wall.

The man drew nearer.

"Please don't… please…" Roxas begged, his voice rasping.

The man reached out a hand and touched Roxas's shoulder.

Roxas jumped violently.

"Please…" He begged, his tears falling even faster. A sob mixed with the rasping of his voice.

This was unusual, most of the time the men just laughed and forced themselves on him.

"Roxas, it's me." The man said quietly. The voice was familiar.

It was the redhead!

"Ax… Ax…" Roxas tried to remember his name, "Axel!" He gasped, his eyes widening as the light hit the redhead's face for the first time.

"Yeah Rox." Axel said, trying to smile.

"I… help." Roxas whispered, looking down.

"I will. I'll get you out of here Rox. I will. Just… hold still." Axel whispered.

"Well grab him! There's a bigger room down the hall!" Vexen yelled.

A look of disgust crossed Axel's face, but Roxas knew it was directed at Vexen.

Axel came back for him!

Axel carried the blonde bridal style to the bedroom.

There was a window, covered with a curtain. Axel smiled as soon as the door closed and threw open the curtain.

Good thing this was the ground floor.

Axel quickly closed the curtain as Vexen knocked on the door again.

"What?" He asked.

"If you need drugs, I have them out here. It'll keep him quiet." The man laughed.

"No, I have… _other_ ways to keep him quiet." Axel responded, frowning as Roxas's eyes widened and he unconsciously backed up a little on the bed.

"I'll leave you then, call me in when you're done!" The man called.

Roxas gulped.

Axel opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and turned to the window. He threw open the curtains and opened the window.

"Roxas, I'm going to get you out of here. I've got to carry you, okay?" Axel asked.

Roxas nodded uncertainly.

"Okay, here we go." Axel whispered, picking the blonde up and carrying him to the window. He jumped out with the smaller boy and started running.

They arrived at a car a block away.

Roxas started sobbing violently, the sobs ripping through his body and causing more pain, but he didn't care.

He had dreamed about this.

He was shivering, crying, and bleeding.

"Roxas… can you hear me?" Axel asked.

"How did you know?" Roxas gasped out, his voice rasping and shaking.

"I didn't. I heard from one of my dad's old drunk friends… and I went to see if it was you. This guy… he had a few other places that he told me to look. He loved going to whore-houses. And I found you. I had been looking for so long…" Axel trailed off. Roxas nodded, shivering.

"Th-Thank you Axel." Roxas whispered. He looked up to see Axel's face as he was driving. There was a tear leaking down his cheek, but other than that there was no emotion.

"I'm taking you to the hospital. They'll fix you up Rox." Axel whispered.

Roxas nodded and went back to freaking out inside his head.

They pulled up at the hospital and Axel carried him to the ER.

Soon Roxas was being taken to a room where they began helping him.

He couldn't really tell. It was all kinda fuzzy.

A small blonde girl was watching with Axel.

Roxas still couldn't remember her name.

He felt an IV in his arm and he allowed the darkness to overtake him.

**Axel Pov**

Namine lived the closest to the hospital.

Axel was surprised that there wasn't a puddle around her from all her tears.

He hugged her as they tried to fix Roxas.

They were telling him about it.

How did he end up in this chair? Wasn't he watching Roxas with Namine?

He glanced at the clock.

It seemed that an hour or so had passed.

When did that happen?

The doctor said that a lot of Roxas's bones were broken.

He had a concussion.

Something was wrong with his lungs.

There were drugs in his system.

He had been raped many times.

His voice was raspy because of the raping.

He was bruised all over.

They were cleaning him up now, so they could get his casts and stuff on.

Axel nodded absentmindedly, staring off into space.

Sometime later Namine was shaking his shoulder, Demyx was beside her.

When did that happen?

"Ax, they said we can see him." She said quietly.

For once in his life Demyx was silent.

They walked into the hospital room. Marluxia (When did he get here?) put a flower on his bedside table. Namine buried herself in Marluxia's chest.

Larxene leaned on the doorway. She seemed at a loss for words.

Zexion didn't even have a book with him.

Demyx grabbed Zexion and said he was going to grab a coffee.

Axel knew that he just didn't want to see it.

Marluxia took Namine away an hour later, saying he'd be back tomorrow.

Larxene still stood there.

"Tell him… If he… isn't gonna make it… tell him that I'm sorry. But if he is gonna make it you better not EVER tell him, or I'll kill you." Larxene threatened half-heartedly. She crossed the room and patted Axel's shoulder (a great gesture, by her standards) and left.

The nurse tried to move Axel.

"Only family now! It's after hours!" She scolded.

"Miss, I saved him from his teacher, who was whoring him out. I'm his best friend. I'm… his boyfriend. His family hates him, aside from his brothers, who are too far away to reach him. I think I deserve the right to make sure he's not alone when he wakes up." He said in a flat voice, not really looking at her face.

She left.

Axel took Roxas's cold and held it.

"Roxas? Can you hear me?" He whispered.

"Axel?" Roxas responded sleepily.

"Hi." Axel said quietly.

"I love you." Roxas rasped.

"I-I love you too." Axel whispered back.

"I… want to go home, Ax. I don't want to be here." Roxas said childishly.

"I know Roxas." Axel sighed.

"You don't know! Otherwise I'd be home!" Roxas whisper-screamed.

"Roxas, I can't take you home. If I could… I would. But I can't." Axel said, leaning over and hugging the boy, who flinched.

"I… I'm so dirty…" Roxas moaned, his eyes fluttering close.

"No you're not, you're the same as always." Axel assured him. Roxas's eye whipped open.

"No, I can't even remember their names!" Roxas exclaimed.

"They probably can't remember yours." Axel responded, thinking that Roxas was thinking of the men.

"No, I can't remember our friends' names. I… remember Xion… and you… but not the blonde girl, or the brown-haired boy…" Roxas sobbed.

"I'll help you remember later, Rox. It'll come back to you, I'm sure it will." Axel promised.

"I… I thought you were one of them! I thought you were going to… I'm sorry." Roxas mumbled, hanging his head in shame.

"It's okay Rox, I don't blame you." Axel whispered.

"It's not okay! I shouldn't have been born! Or I should've died there! I… wish Mother had done the abortion when dad told her to." Roxas whimpered.

"No Rox, no matter how bad it is… If you didn't exist I wouldn't have met you. And I love you, Rox." Axel whispered.

"I love you too…" Roxas trailed off as he sank into unconciousness.


	19. Nightmares

***Hey! Now, I know some of you are a bit confused about why I went so fast for Roxas's kidnapping. It's because 1. there would be too much M rated stuff that would've been put in, and 2. I don't really NEED it… Plus it's kinda cool to be finding out AS he's finding out what happened.***

**Roxas Pov**

"Hey, wake up. Roxas!" Roxas heard as he tossed and turned on his hospital bed, entangling himself in the thin sheets.

His eyes snapped open and he looked around in fear, worried that he was back in that damn concrete prison under the stairs.

But he wasn't. He was in a hospital. And Axel was sitting next to him looking extremely worried.

"What?" He whispered, looking at the redhead.

"You were screaming." Axel responded.

"Oh." Roxas said blankly.

He had been having a nightmare about one of the more horrible nights with Vexen. Only Vexen did the truly cruel stuff.

"Do I want to know?" Axel asked, looking curious.

Roxas shuddered and his heart rate went up.

"No." He whispered.

"Okay, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." Axel said softly.

**Axel Pov**

What could scare Roxas that much?

He had been shaking and screaming, and when I asked him about it the blood drained from his face.

Axel shook his head.

Roxas would talk when he wanted to talk. Axel didn't have the heart to make him relive it. Not now.

But what could he do?

The doctors were still working on him a bit. It had been a week, but…

And Axel didn't really want to know all the details.

But he knew that he needed to. He needed to know what that bastard had done to HIS boyfriend, so that he could hunt the man down and kill him.

Roxas began to scream yet again.

Axel sighed, it had been like this for a long week.

He began to wake up Roxas again.

**Two Weeks Later**

**Axel Pov**

Roxas finally got to leave that damned hospital.

With Axel.

He had no idea where he was going to go, he realized as they climbed into Axel's car.

But his silent question was answered by Axel.

"You're going to live with Cloud. He's got an apartment here in town, but he'll be at college most of the time. He said he'd stay with you if you wanted." Axel said.

Roxas remained silent.

Axel sighed.

It had been like this for two weeks. Suddenly, Roxas stopped talking. The psychiatrist said it was trauma or something.

"If you want him to stay nod, little buddy." Axel said.

Roxas shook his head.

"Okay. I'll tell him. He was worried sick. And Namine wants to help you decorate." Axel went on.

He had told the blonde their friend's names again. Plus he had told him his brother's names. Sora looked like he was going to cry yet again when Axel explained that Roxas couldn't remember.

Axel, Sora, and Zexion seemed to be the only ones who could talk to the blonde. Sora, because he was Roxas's twin, Zexion, because he knew how to read people almost as well as he could read books, and Axel because… well, he was Roxas's best friend.

He imagined that they had whole conversations in their silent speaking.

Roxas seemed to trust them all, he remembered them pretty well, just not their names.

Like he knew immediately that the flower was from Marluxia, that the picture was from Namine, and that the book was from Zexion in the hospital.

He had turned on VH1 (the only music channel that still played music) when Axel had told him that Demyx would be coming in. And he (when he was still talking) had said hello to Larxene.

But Axel was worried about the boy. And who wouldn't be? It looked like he had finally cracked under all the pressure from the abuse, to the killing of his sister, to the depression, to bullying, to the rape, to more intense abuse, to that evil man… he had a bad life.

But for a while… he got to have his friends.

But even Axel knew that it wasn't enough to compensate. Roxas was seriously fucked up now… and he didn't know if he'd ever be the same.

But Axel shook the thoughts from his mind as they reached Cloud's apartment.

"Your parents are on the run. I'll take you back to their house to get your stuff when you're ready. Just text me. We got your phone back." Axel said, handing the iPod back to Roxas.

Roxas immediately started tapping on the touch screen.

Axel felt his phone vibrate and he picked it up.

"Thank you. How long have I been… gone?" Was the text.

"You were missing for two months. You were in the hospital for almost a month. It looks like you missed Christmas, huh?" the redhead asked, trying to joke.

Roxas shrugged and began texting again.

"Can you take me to get my stuff tomorrow?"

"Sure." Axel replied aloud.

Roxas climbed out of the car, the key to the apartment in his hand.

"You're sure you don't want me to keep you company?" Axel asked.

Roxas nodded.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." Axel sighed.

Roxas was about to close the door, but Axel called out to him.

"I love you, Roxas"

The door slammed.

"I love you too." Roxas mouthed.

And Axel drove away.

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas sighed as he sat on the couch in Cloud's apartment.

It had only been three months? It had felt like years.

Years and years and years. Was that slumber party only three months ago?

'Stop being emo and do something.' Roxas told himself.

So he went rummaging through all the stuff in the apartment, looking for something.

Finally he found himself in the bathroom, holding a razor blade.

'God, that's the OPPOSITE of not being emo, dumbass!' He said to himself.

Really, after all that harm they had done to him, he was going to inflict it on himself? That was stupid!

He put the blade away and walked to the bed in the empty room.

Roxas looked around. The walls were light blue, as were the sheets. There was a nightstand and a dress, but nothing else.

He sighed and dove under the covers.

He stared at the ceiling.

He didn't really want to sleep. That always brought nightmares.

But he was so tired.

He closed his eyes and let the dreams take him.

_Roxas cried out in pain as the newest man attacked his body._

_He would have thought that after this long he'd be used to the pain._

_He would never get used to it._

_This man had decided not to take up Vexen's offer of drugs. He liked to hear the screams._

_But Roxas always tried to be brave. He always tried not to scream._

_And he always failed._

_Another night there was Vexen._

_Vexen always used a knife._

_And he never used the drugs._

_Just a knife._

_And sometimes, matches._

_Roxas tried to get up and run, but Vexen picked up a baseball bat._

'_When did that get here?' was all Roxas could think before everything went black._

_Flash forward to another day._

_Days and Nights were equally horrible, because during the night Roxas had a chance for heroine, his savior._

_But in the day it wore off. And in the day he remembered the pain and the hunger._

_Vexen almost never fed him, but the door burst open today, telling Roxas that today he'd get food._

"_Here you go, you little slut!" The man laughed as he dropped a dog dish in front of the boy, next to the water dish that he always kept filled in the concrete room._

_He wanted to make sure that Roxas didn't die._

_Roxas ate the beyond stale bread as fast as he could, now aware that Vexen would take the bowl back in exactly one minute._

_He had just swallowed the last piece when Vexen grabbed the dish back._

_The man looked disappointed that he hadn't grabbed it back sooner._

"_I'll be visiting you tonight, Roxas." The man smirked, slamming the doors behind him and leaving Roxas once again in the darkness._

That's when Roxas woke up, screaming.

He sat up in his bed and curled into himself, sobbing.

He hated sleeping. Hated it.

He finally ran to the kitchen and made himself some coffee. He hated the bitter taste, but it would keep him awake.

Maybe.

He wished he could go and find Setzer, but he didn't want to deal with his friends if they found out.

Why couldn't he have fallen into a coma? Just a few months of sleep. That's all Roxas wanted.

But that was too much to ask.

So Roxas waited until morning, shivering from cold, the memories, and his caffeine buzz. He was going to stay up until Axel came to bring him back to his parent's house.


	20. Anastasia

***Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long… Just… lots of other stuff going on. Yay 20th chapter! Whoo! Yay!***

**Axel Pov**

Axel had made his final decision as he walked up the stairs to Roxas and Cloud's apartment.

He knocked on the door.

He heard Roxas jump off the couch and start undoing all the locks that Cloud had installed on the door.

There were about fifty.

Axel knew Cloud had done it to make the younger boy feel more safe, but right now it was just annoying.

Roxas sighed when he reached the bottom one, finally.

He wrenched the door open and there was Axel, looking a bit worried.

Roxas grabbed the sharpie and notebook that he decided on using and scribbled a short note.

"Sorry, Cloud is being paranoid." He wrote.

Axel shrugged and smiled slightly at the blonde boy.

"You ready to go?" The redhead mouthed.

Roxas nodded, then froze.

"Why aren't you talking?" He wrote to Axel, worry in his eyes.

"I'll start talking when you do." Axel mouthed.

Roxas reached up to Axel's shirt collar and pulled the taller boy down to his level.

"Axel, please don't. Your voice… it got me through that hell." He mouthed, knowing Axel could read lips.

"Okay, but will you start talking?" Axel asked, using his voice this time.

Roxas shook his head.

"Why not?" Axel asked.

"I can't." Roxas wrote on his paper.

He had reverted to writing things down, since it's easier for Axel to read than lips.

"Why can't you?" Axel asked, looking curious.

"I can't tell you." Roxas wrote.

"Why?" Axel asked.

Roxas shivered, his eyes looking far away.

"Okay, I won't ask!" Axel exclaimed.

"Thanks." Roxas mouthed, his face pale.

"Ready to go?" Axel asked.

Roxas nodded and they walked down to Axel's car. Axel opened the door for the blonde and walked around to the driver's side after Roxas had gotten in.

Axel drove down to Roxas's house, both of them sitting in silence.

Axel was worried as they pulled up to the blonde's old house, but he merely grinned and opened Roxas's door for him. Roxas smiled back slightly and hopped out, shyly grabbing Axel's hand.

Axel smiled wider and led the boy into the house with a spare key Cloud had given him.

"So, what do you want?" Axel asked, referring to all the stuff in the house.

"Go and get some stuff from Cloud's room, he gave me a list." Roxas wrote, handing Axel a list. "I'll get the stuff out from under my floorboards."

"Okay." Axel agreed, walking up the stairs and reading the list.

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas sighed to himself as Axel walked up the stairs. He didn't need Axel to be breathing down his neck all eternity. He just had some things he had to take care of.

Roxas walked into the room his nightmares and dreams consisted of. He hated this room, always had. At least there was only one bed in it, instead of the three that used to be crammed into it.

He got on his knees and looked under the floorboards and pulled out various objects. A yo-yo, some pictures, crayons… and a baggy. He put them all into a pocket of his coat.

He tore up some more floorboards. He grabbed his mother's final gift to him. He put that into an inner pocket of his coat and sighed, a tear escaping his eye. He quickly wiped it away and started pulling Xion's old stuff and assorted stuff form when he was a kid. He also packed up his clothes and looked around. He knew he'd be back here soon enough. He had vowed to tear up all the floorboards and look for the stuff he and Xion hid here.

Roxas sighed and texted Axel that he was going to start putting stuff in the car. Axel texted back a quick "Kay" he was probably still looking for the stuff in Cloud's room.

Roxas had heaved all but one of the boxes up into Axel's car before he noticed something weird. In the bushes behind his house was a set of keys. The keys to his father's car.

Roxas clicked the little locator button and heard a faint beep.

He texted Axel that he was going to go for a little walk to clear his head. The redhead texted another "Kay" and Roxas went off to find the source of the beep. It didn't take him very long. He found the car and looked under the mat. His and Xion's necklaces were still there. Roxas smiled to himself and pulled them on. He got into the front seat and thanked God that Riku had taught him to drive a long time ago.

He drove the car back to his old house and grinned at Axel's surprised face when he climbed out.

"I didn't know you could drive." Axel said.

"Riku taught me a couple years ago." Roxas wrote and shrugged.

"Who's car is this?" Axel asked.

"My dad's car. I found the keys in the bushes and the car about a block away." Roxas wrote.

"What do you want to do with it?" Axel asked. Roxas was a bit surprised that he wasn't mad, but just shrugged.

"Sell it. I hate the damned thing. Then Cloud could have more college money." Roxas wrote.

"Cool, one of Reno's old friends works at a car dealership. We can sell it in a few days." Axel said.

"Yeah, let's just leave it here until then." Roxas wrote in reply.

"Okay. Selphie wanted to visit you today. And Namine wanted to go to the mall. Want me to tell her that we'll go after lunch, so you can chill with Selphie for the rest of the morning and I can get some sleep?" Axel asked.

Roxas nodded and they got into Axel's car. The drive back to Cloud's was silent, since Axel couldn't read and drive at the same time. They got all the stuff into the apartment and Axel dropped Roxas off at Selphie's.

"I love you." Axel said, kissing the blonde's forehead and earning a flinch.

"I love you too." Roxas mouthed, squeezing the taller boy's hand and waving when he got into Selphie's house.

Roxas was assaulted by a sobbing Selphie, who hugged Roxas half to death. Roxas could swear he heard Axel laugh as he drove away.

Those two had become friends in the months Roxas was missing. Selphie was clean and totally understood that he was meant for Axel. She was going out with Seifer, who had pretty much stopped beating people up after she told him to.

Roxas laughed too and pulled out a pack of cards.

"Crazy eights or house of cards?" Selphie asked. Roxas wrote "Crazy eights" on the paper and they commenced playing. Selphie even had the nerds. Her mother came out of the kitchen and said her hello to Roxas, then left to run some errands. After about fifty games of crazy eights, Selphie and Roxas began to build houses of cards.

Roxas's kept falling over.

"That's weird, yours always stay up so well." Selphie mused. Roxas looked at the time and said goodbye, forgetting his fallen house of cards on her table. Selphie shrugged when she saw them after he left and figured she'd return them to him after school.

Roxas walked to Axel's house and knocked on the door. Anastasia opened it and smiled down at him.

"Oh, you're just as cute as I remember!" She squealed and hugged the boy, who cringed, but lifted his arms to hug her back.

"Hello Anastasia. Is Axel awake yet?" He wrote to her.

"Oh no, he's way out of it. Actually, I'd like to talk to you about him." Anastasia confessed.

"About what?" Roxas wrote, his eyes showing his curiosity.

"Well… You might want to sit down, this'll take some time." She said, offering him a chair. They both sat and she sighed, playing with a necklace. Roxas nearly began to do the same. He had the felling you get when you're sent to the principal's office.

"The day Axel met you… you know, your first day, well… he was acting pretty odd. I figured it was a crush of teenage angst or something, but… a few weeks later, after that sleepover, he came home and nearly passed out after the dance. I was pretty confused, but he just started gushing about how he KNEW you were Ven. That's about all he'd tell me, that and that you were having problems at home. Oh and he said you were gay and your parents forced you to have a girlfriend." Anastasia pushed some hair from her face and sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even adopted that boy. I'm so unqualified to be a parent. But that day, he was so happy… It was awesome." She smiled. Roxas smiled back, but he didn't write anything more, he knew she had more she wanted to say.

"Well… then you went missing. Axel was a wreck. He wouldn't sleep for days, trying to find out where you were. He got in touch with his father's old friends, they went to private whore houses. But none of them really knew where you were. He'd go to them and find some poor soul trapped and he'd give them a card to call the police with, but he couldn't really do anything for them. He had to be hospitalized once… One of the pimps attacked him for giving the kid a card." Anastasia sighed.

"I'm so sorry." Roxas wrote on the paper.

"It's okay sweetie… I know it's not your fault. After you were kidnapped Axel told me everything about you. I asked why he didn't tell the police and he was crying and saying that he should have and that he didn't care if you hated him, as long as you were safe, but he said that he was selfish and didn't want you to go away. I'm only twenty four, dear. I have no idea how to deal with that.

"But Demitri stepped in. He told Axel about how he was going to bring an imposter to my grandmother for the reward she set out. But he figured out I was the real thing. I thought he was horrible when I found out, I hated him. But he just let me talk to my grandmother… and he left without getting the reward. He told Axel about that because he wanted to show him that sometimes being selfish was a good thing. Had he not been a selfish asshole, he would have never met me." Anastasia continued.

"But, though that made Axel feel a little better about not calling the cops, he was still beyond freaked out. And when he found you… I barley got to see him outside of the hospital. I visited you, but you were too far gone to notice. Or maybe you just didn't care. Anyways… you broke his heart when you stopped talking. You really did. He came home crying, saying how you wouldn't talk to anyone, not even him or Sora or Cloud. I came up with the idea of him not talking, but it seems you convinced him to talk. I'd just like to know… why aren't you talking? I won't tell him if you don't want me to, just let me know so I can feel a little better about this whole thing." Anastasia pleaded.

Roxas looked down at his paper and began to write slowly. He picked up speed and tears dotted the paper. He handed it to her and stared at the ground as she read.

"Vexen used my voice. He loved it, as much as that sick bastard can love anything. He would do whatever he could to hear it or to make me scream. I just… one day I slit my own throat with his knife after he passed out. My voice was raspy because of it, and other things… but it healed while I was there. I told the doctors… and they told me that my voice may never be the same again, which I don't mind… but one day it went back to normal… and Vexen had told me 'As long as there's a chance to hear that pretty voice of yours, I'll never give up.'. I just… I don't want it if he loved it so much… I just want things to go back to normal… And I heard if you don't use your voice for long enough, it'll go away or change or something."

"I see. Well… as I said before, I'm not the best at giving advice, but you're breaking Axel's heart. If you just give this paper to him, I'm sure he'd understand and he wouldn't make you talk." Anastasia assured the blonde boy.

Roxas took back the notebook and flipped to a new page.

"No, he'll just think that's a stupid reason and try to convince me to talk." Roxas wrote.

"Well, it's not a stupid reason, but you should talk. Everything would be a little better if you talked. You and Axel have another week without school for some kind of break, so you could get over your voice and be able to talk at school… and I'm sure that if Vexen gets anywhere near you Axel would kill him." Anastasia said with a slight smile.

"Actually, that's some good advice… I'll think about it. Can you direct me to your bathroom so my crazy boyfriend doesn't think something's wrong when he sees me crying?" Roxas wrote with a slight smile of his own.

"Second door to the left. I'll make some tea, Axel always takes forever to get ready after a nap." Anastasia sighed.

Roxas washed his face and headed back into the living room, where Anastasia and Axel were drinking tea. Axel looked waay tired and nearly missed his mouth. Roxas giggled.

"Oh hush… That was a perfectly good nap you interrupted, I was dreaming about unicorns and fairies." Axel grumbled.

"I knew you were gay, Ax, but WOW…" Roxas wrote, laughing softly.

"I'd have to be gay to be dating you." Axel retorted.

"That can't possibly be because we're both guys, could it?" Roxas wrote, still laughing.

"Nah. You're just frilly."

"I am NOT frilly!" Roxas wrote.

"Oh yes you are. I remember Xion showed me a picture of you in a dress." Axel grinned.

"She blackmailed me into that!" Roxas wrote in protest.

"It's a good thing your handwriting is so good, otherwise we wouldn't be able to have such interesting conversations." Anastasia said, unfazed as she sipped her tea.

"Yeah, nice, neat, and girly." Axel laughed.

"I'll show you girly!" Roxas scrawled, then tackled Axel's chair tipping it over backwards.

"Ania! Help!" Axel said.

"You got yourself into that, you get yourself out. I'm off to see Demitri, I'll be back in a few hours.

Roxas sat on Axel's chest and wrote that lady a note telling her that they'd be at the mall or something with Namine for a while and she nodded and left.

"Jesus Rox, when'd you get so strong?" Axel asked when he finally got up.

"I ate my broccoli." Roxas wrote and laughed.

Maybe things would get back to normal somehow.

Maybe the house of cards could be rebuilt.

***WARNING: NOT THE END! I will tell you when it's the end. Now, did you like it? Huh? Cuz I've been trying to think of a good reason for Roxas not to talk for the past moth and this is the best I could come up with. I love you all, my minions of darkness! Fly my pretties fly!


	21. Christmas NOT A REAL CHAPTER

***Hey guys, this is Xoxoroxas yet again to inform you about this new chapter **THIS IS IMPORTANT PLEASE READ**. Sorry, sometimes I skip the author's note, so I needed to be sure you're listening. **THIS IS NOT REALLY PART OF THE CONCRETE HOUSE OF CARDS STORY. **This is like a fanfiction of a fanfiction. I wanted to do a Christmas thing, but my idea screwed with the actual storyline. So enjoy!***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas's mother had decorated the house. This hadn't happened for years.

Not since Xion died.

But her church friends were coming over for Christmas brunch. So everything looked straight out of Martha Stewart's stupid TV show.

Roxas sighed as he waited in the basement. Either Christmas would be great this year and his parents wouldn't touch him, or it would be horrible.

After brunch and the church ladies left, and Roxas's father wobbled down the stairs, drunk off eggnog.

Looking pretty horrible. The house of cards began to fall even before his fists Roxas's skin. But when they did hit the cards fell with vigor.

Roxas's father stumbled up the stairs laughing and Roxas moaned in pain quietly. Every inch of him hurt. He climbed onto his bed and made sure nothing was broken. Nope, nothing broken.

His mother came down the stairs.

"My brunch went well. Get the hell out of my house, they want to come back for dinner and they wanted to know if you wanted to be included. You will not. If you're not back by eight o clock no food for a week." She hissed. She shoved Roxas out of the house.

Roxas walked to the convenience store (thank God it was open) and asked to go to he bathroom. Mr. Happy (that's all everyone called the man who ran the store) knew Roxas enough to just give him the key and not ask for anything to hold onto to make sure he'd come back. He cheerfully called to Roxas to have a merry Christmas as he walked to the restroom.

As soon as he was in the bathroom Roxas did a damage inspection. His father had been too drunk to even try to hide where he hit the boy.

He sighed to himself and cleaned up the cuts as best he could with paper towels and soap.

He nodded to Mr. Happy as he returned the key and walked out of the store. He'd just go to the park and wait it out. Axel and the others wouldn't want him killing their Christmases with his problems.

Maybe he could see Sora or Cloud.

No… He didn't have any money to do that.

He shivered on the park bench, surrounded by snow, and tried to figure out where he could go to get warm. He couldn't go to a homeless shelter, his mother's friends worked there sometimes. Not to a restaurant, he had no money.

Damn! He had eight hours to wait!

He could go to the mall… no, it's closed today.

He just shivered on the bench for a while until he caught sight of a bright red fluff of hair.

No! He couldn't let Axel see him!

Roxas thought that, though Axel knew his secret and they were going out, the red didn't need to worry about him so much. This would just make things worse.

But he was so cold in his thin hoodie, he could barley move. His hood was over his face. Axel probably would just think he was a homeless kid. That'd be fine. He'd just walk by without a second thought and..

"Roxas?" The redhead's voice asked. Roxas kept his gaze down. He froze and stiffened while he waited for the redhead to realize he was mistaken.

"Rox… is that you?" Axel asked, kneeling down in front of the blonde boy.

He peeked up to Roxas's hidden face and recognition crossed his handsome features.

"Roxas…" he trailed off, and the blonde looked away, wishing Axel would just go away.

"What happened to you?" Axel asked in a strained voice.

"A Christmas present." Roxas whispered.

Axel took the shorter boy's chin in his hand, earning himself a large flinch, and turned Roxas's face so that Roxas was looking into his eyes.

Roxas's eyes were filled with dread as they met the redhead's.

"Roxas." The redhead said in a dangerous voice that caused Roxas to cringe, "When were you going to tell me about this?" Axel asked.

"I wasn't." Roxas whispered, extremely scared. He was shaking even more now and Axel seemed to notice.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked.

"Nothing!" Roxas answered too quickly, afraid of making the redhead mad. He averted his eyes and tried to make himself smaller.

"Hey now." Axel said gently, turning Roxas's face to look at him, "I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" Roxas asked, truly surprised.

"No. I'm mad at your parents. I'm mad at your parents." Axel said, narrowing his eyes.

Roxas shrank back again and Axel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

When he opened them once again he smiled. "Wanna come to my house for Christmas?" He asked.

"Uh… would you mind? Because if you have plans I'll be fine." Roxas said.

"Why were you on the bench?" Axel asked.

"Waiting for it to be eight o clock." Roxas shrugged.

"Why?" Axel asked curiously.

"My mother said that I couldn't come home until then."

Axel closed his eyes again for a bit.

He looked a bit stressed when he opened them again. "No other plans. In fact Ania's going to a 'grown up party' which I'm not allowed to go to." He said with a strained smile.

Roxas tried to return the gesture, but his face was too sore.

Axel led the badly shivering boy through the snow and to his house.

They sat in front of the fireplace and munched on Christmas cookies. Well, Axel munched on them. Roxas wolfed them down.

"Damn Rox, when was the last time you ate?" Axel asked worriedly.

"Uh…. The day before yesterday?" Roxas asked.

"Holy shit, Rox! We're getting you food. Now." Axel said. He left the blonde boy sitting on the carpet as he heated up some leftovers from last night's dinner.

Roxas ate it quietly while Axel watched the fire with great interest. His hand slowly crept towards the flames…

"No Axel! Fire will burn you! Bad Axel!" Roxas scolded with a smile.

"Aww, but it's so pretty!" Axel whined.

"I don't care if it's sparkly and shooting fairies. Don't touch it." Roxas said.

"I miss Christmas with my parents." Axel said wistfully.

"Hmm? What did you do then?" Roxas asked.

"Well, before Mom and Dad were fighting all the time, we used to go to bed Christmas Eve, then I'd wait for Kairi to run into my room to wake me up. That could take a while, but I'd always wait for her. Then we'd race down the stairs and tear open our stockings and play with the toys in them. Then we'd wait for our parents to wake up. When they finally did, we got to open the presents under the tree! It was great. And for the rest of the day we'd gorge ourselves on candy canes and cookies and hot cocoa." Axel said with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Before Xion died my family actually celebrated Christmas." Roxas said with a contented sigh.

"What'd you do?" Axel asked, surprised.

"Well, when it wasn't so bad, Mother and Father gave us stockings and a couple presents. I remember in my stocking one year I got play-dough and a candy cane. The present they gave me was a book. But we were pretty poor. We got to eat a big turkey diner and they let Xion put the star on the top of the tree." Roxas said with a smile on his face, lost in the past.

"I know our families suck, but I miss the way things used to be, don't you?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. But if things went back to the way they were I wouldn't know you." Roxas reminded the redhead.

"No. But I bet Xion would get us together somehow." Axel grinned.

"Oh, and I got a present for you." Roxas said, grateful he had grabbed it before his mother had kicked him out.

"I got one for you too, wait here!" Axel said, getting up and running over to the tree decorated all in red. He grabbed a blue wrapped present from below it and rushed back to Roxas.

"Here." Roxas said with a smile. He handed the redhead a small box with a bow on it.

"Are you proposing to me? I do!" Axel teased, pretending to swoon.

"Just open it." Roxas said, rolling his eyes.

The redhead smiled as he opened the bow. There were two new sparkling earrings.

"Holy… where'd you get the money for this?" Axel asked, beyond happy.

"I didn't. My mother never wore them. They were at the bottom of her jewelry box. If she ever figures out they're gone she'll just assume she gave them away or lost them." Roxas shrugged.

Axel crushed the smaller boy to him and whispered "I love them" into his ear. Roxas smiled softly, after he flinched, and hugged back.

"Well? Open your present!" Axel exclaimed after letting go of the blonde.

Roxas did and found inside his a new hoodie. It looked warm and it was black with little hanging silver things and a deep hood.

"Awesome! I needed a new hoodie." Roxas said with a smile.

The both were quiet for a bit, looking back into the fire again. Roxas looked up after a while and noticed something above them.

Mistletoe.

"Hey Ax, look." He said, pointing up to the plant.

Axel looked up and saw the green thing above him. He grinned and leaned into the surprised blonde's lips. Roxas's eyes drooped and he kissed back.

Best Christmas ever.

***Yeah I know. This isn't my best work. But I wanted to give you guys a good present.***


	22. Voice

***Hey guys! Jesus, it's been a while since I actually sat down and wrote the actual story of this. Also, I just talked out most of the plot with my bestie Reese. (Reese: Aww, thanks.) Yep. Want a hint as to what's going on? If you don't, just skip to the actual story. Now, Reese, if you will? *drumroll* (Reese: Vexen's return!) Muahahahaha! You will HATE me!***

**Roxas Pov**

For the rest of the week, Roxas and Axel hung out with their friends and just acted like normal teenagers. After the first day at the mall where everyone was treating Roxas like a fragile thing that might break any second, Roxas told (wrote) them the story about how he took on Axel in his house. No one thought he was fragile after that.

Axel and Roxas walked into the blonde's apartment (it was really more of his that Cloud's anyways) and they nearly collapsed laughing at something stupid like they had every other day this week. Roxas's laughs were a little off though. All week he had been thinking about what Anastasia said about talking again and explaining to Axel why he hadn't. Plus, Roxas was pretty sure Vexen wouldn't be able to hear his voice or anything (at least, that's what he told himself). To be perfectly honest, Roxas was terrified. But looking at the laughing redhead strengthened his resolve and he knew he was going to do what he was about to do out of love.

The redhead looked down at him, his eyes still sparkling with laughter, and Roxas thought this would be as good a time as any.

He grabbed Axel's shirt and pulled the taller boy into a surprised kiss.

The kiss brought back memories that Roxas fought against, trying not to remember. But he did anyways. Even if the kiss was chaste and Axel wasn't moving at all because he was almost catatonic from the shock of it, all he felt was Vexen.

Roxas ended the kiss abruptly, looking at the floor so that Axel wouldn't see the tears in his eyes that the kiss had caused. Axel remained still for a few long moments, then he gathered the blonde into his arms and hugged him close to his chest, ignoring Roxas's initial flinch at the touch.

"Roxas." Axel whispered into the blonde's golden hair. "Rox… I thought you would never do that again." Axel rocked slightly and Roxas took a few deep breaths. He debated whether to go on with his original plan. The memories had been worse than he expected. He decided to go on anyways.

"Axel." He said softly, his voice still a bit raspy from nonuse. He felt Axel stiffen at the word. No going back now. "Axel… I love you. I'm so sorry for not talking. I just… I couldn't. I… I still don't want to talk about why, but I told Anastasia a week ago, and I'll give you the paper I explained to her on." Roxas said, still very softly.

"Roxas…" Axel trailed off. The blonde felt drips hitting his head.

"No, Ax, don't cry!" Roxas said, looking up at the redhead with eyes still full of unshed tears at the memory the kiss had brought back.

"Thank you Rox. Thank you so much. Best present ever." Axel said, hugging the life out of his little blonde.

"I… I really am sorry about not talking. I needed to work things out in my head and I was afraid." Roxas looked around subtly, and let out a nervous laugh. His voice had all but lost the rasp it had from weeks of nonuse. He cleared his throat. "I'm still afraid." He whispered.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." Axel assured him.

"Oh, yes there is." Roxas said. "I… I'll tell you now, since I really don't know where I put the notebook."

"Okay."

"Vexen… that evil bastard. He… He liked my voice. Loved it, actually, in his sick sadistic way. He was always trying to get me to talk or scream. And… When I was held captive… I slit my own throat one day." Roxas said quietly. He heard Axel gasp, still buried in his hair. "I wanted to die. I wanted to get the hell out of there. But of course he wouldn't let me. I… he stopped me before I could even go deep enough. But it damaged something, and my voice was raspy and sounded different. He didn't like it. And one day he told me… he told me…" Roxas found that his voice betrayed him and he couldn't go on past the lump in it.

"What'd he tell you Rox?" Axel asked, his voice deathly calm.

"He told me that if there was ever a chance of hearing my voice again… he'd find me." Roxas whispered, eyes darting.

"Well fuck. And I was being a dick about you not talking and this whole time you were scared…" Axel trailed off, then cleared his throat and tried to speak again. "I thought I'd be doing you a favor, trying to get you to talk. Like, you were in shock or something." Axel explained.

"I know. But I want to talk. I don't want to hurt you anymore." Roxas said quietly.

The next week they returned to school. After being pulled out of homeroom by Areith, and being hugged to near death by Zack, who was visiting her at the time, the day went normally. He got all his missing work and talked to his friends, who were surprised to hear him talking, but just took it in stride.

He walked home, Axel had detention because he accidentally set fire to something. Again. The redhead offered to let Roxas take his car, but the blonde refused. His apartment was closer to school than Anastasia's house.

So Roxas walked home in the rain, lugging his backpack that was bigger than he was and facing the wind. Then it started to rain.

"Fuck me." Roxas groaned out loud, pissed at the prospect of having to walk in this mess and try to keep all his school stuff dry.

"Gladly." A all too familiar voice said from behind him. Roxas looked up with fear filled eyes and started shaking. A phone was sitting under an open umbrella.

Roxas shakily crept towards it, rather than running away. His brain was screaming to run, but he was frozen.

"Y-you." Roxas stuttered.

"Me. I see your voice has returned to normal, Roxas. I look forward to hearing it in person." The voice continued.

"No fucking way that's ever gonna happen!" Roxas all but yelled at the phone.

"Fine. I see how it is. But remember, I haven't been caught yet. There's a gift for you, in your bedroom. I'll stay hidden for now, but I will find you Roxas. There's no use running or hiding. I'll always get you. One of us has to die for this to end for you." And with that, Vexen hung up.

Roxas no longer cared that he was soaking wet in the middle of winter and freezing his ass off.

"Oh and Roxas?" the phone said.

Roxas made no sound.

"I know you're there. Take this with you. Or it'll be worse for your precious redhead." There was another click and Vexen was gone for good.

Roxas slowly took the phone, but refused to take the umbrella. He didn't want any unnecessary reminders of the evil man.

Roxas slowly made his way home, his stomach turning over several times as he held the phone.

'A gift? He's been in the house?' was all Roxas could think as he unlocked the front door. He only locked one of the several locks behind him.

He grabbed a baseball bat that he and Axel had gotten for Cloud from their house the other day and he walked slowly to his room.

He slowly opened the door.

And sitting on his bed was a very small, very shiny something.

Roxas inched closer, his bat at the ready.

It was a bullet. And a note.

"Dear Roxas, I thought you'd like an extra. In case you don't want to die without a companion. The redhead would do nicely."

Roxas shook even more.

A text vibrated the cell phone.

"Roxas. Hide this phone. Your friends will be suspicious."

Roxas took a deep shaking breath and looked for a place to put it.

He had found a cupboard above his dresser a few days after he moved in. It was hidden behind a painting of a beautiful beach.

He opened the secret compartment and set the phone inside.

He swallowed thickly and left the room, sitting on the couch and staring off into space.

Axel. He had to tell Axel. Screw all that noble stuff about not worrying anyone or angering Vexen.

He'd leave out the bit about the gun though.

He pulled out his phone and texted his redhead.

"Hey Ax, can I come to your house tonight? I need to talk to you."

He got an almost instant reply: "Why not your house?"

"I'll tell you when we get to yours."

"Fair enough."

Roxas sighed. If Axel had his phone that meant he was out of detention. He was probably in the school parking lot. So Roxas grabbed his soaking wet coat and pulled it on and left.

After a long walk he arrived at Axel's house, where Anastasia met him at the door.

"Hey Roxas! I'm going out with some old friends. Feel free to anything in the kitchen and for God's sake change into some dry clothes." She said, walking out the door.

Roxas shrugged to himself. He wondered why Axel hadn't come home yet, seeing how the redhead's car wasn't there. He went to Axel's room and grabbed a plain white tee shirt and too long flannel pajama pants. He rolled up the ends to keep himself from tripping and swiped some of Axel's socks.

Roxas went to the kitchen and grabbed an apple. As he bit into it Axel walked through the door.

"Rox, sorry I'm late, but my car wouldn't start for a bit. So what's up? And why're you in my clothes?" Axel asked as he came into the kitchen.

"Mine were soaked and Ania told me to take yours when she left." Roxas responded. Axel shed his hoodie and hooked his arms around the blonde, ignoring the flinch. He stole a bite from the shorter boy's apple and dragged them to the couch.

"So, what'd you want to talk to me about?" Axel asked.

Roxas took a shaky breath and looked around nervously as he had been doing all day. "Uhmm… well, I was walking home and it was really cold and windy, right?" He began.

Axel nodded encouragingly and took another bite from Roxas's apple.

"And it started to rain, so I muttered 'fuck me' because I was cold and it was raining and I was pulling a hundred pounds of books. And then I heard someone say 'gladly'. And I knew I recognized the voice and I turned around and I saw an umbrella over a phone… and Vexen was on the other line." Roxas rushed out.

"…Go on." Axel said, his voice void of emotion.

"And he said that he was glad my voice returned to normal and that he was going to hear it in person… and that one of us had to die for him to stop. Me or him. And he told me I had to bring the phone with me or… He'd make things worse for you." Roxas explained, honestly afraid of Axel's dangerous expression at that second.

"Anything else?" Axel asked.

"He was in my room. Some things were out of place and stuff." Roxas said, not wanting to tell the redhead about the gun.

Axel closed his eyes for a minute. "Roxas, we're gonna drive to your house and get your stuff. Get the phone too… and you can live with me. Ania won't mind. And Cloud won't either." Axel said after a while.

And that's what they did. Axel left Roxas alone to get his things, and Roxas took he gun, the baggy, and the phone. He hid the baggy and the gun in Xion's old dress.

Then Roxas moved into Axel's guest room. He sat on the bed alone for about an hour, pretending to do homework. He just needed some time.

He closed his eyes. After a long bit of decision making, he smiled to himself and took out Xion's box of pictures.

He looked at them. There were a lot of pictures of him, Cloud, and Xion just goofing off in their disguises. There were assorted pictures with Sora in them too, and a few of Xion and her friends. There were some with Riku and Sora, and there was one of their parents.

It was Christmas Day in the picture, Xion had gotten a disposable camera as her present and took their picture. Mother was in a long light blue dress that sparkled in the light and was holding onto Father, who was in a tux. They were going out to a very important party.

Roxas stared at the picture of his parents for a long while. They had been abusing the children for a while when this was taken. But the kids still loved their parents. Xion, Roxas, and Sora had to be about four, while Cloud was seven. Cloud was still getting most of the abuse, and it really wasn't that much. Just a few hits here, no food for a while there. Nothing too major.

But a month after this picture was when everything changed. Somehow, the parents snapped. And by the time Xion was 11, just seven years after this picture… she was dead.

Roxas had all the pictures spread out in front of him on the bed. He was sitting the the end, cross legged and staring at them all.

There was a knock on his door.

"It's not locked." He called.

Axel poked his head in and said "You wanna take a break from… oh. I guess you're not doing homework."

"Yeah, sorry. I got sidetracked." Roxas replied, still not looking up from the pictures.

He grabbed another box and dumped those pictures out. From Twilight Town. And a few yearbooks.

Axel came over to the bed and sat lightly next to Roxas.

"Here's a bunch of me and Xion and Cloud as kids." Roxas said, pointing them out.

"There's some of Xion and us." Axel said, pointing out ones of Xion and him and the rest.

"There's me and Sora." Roxas pointed out.

"There's the park."

"There's my parents." Roxas said, pointing to the picture.

"They don't look that evil." Axel commented.

"It was Christmas." Roxas shrugged.

Axel nodded and looked curiously at some other pictures.

"Who are they?" He asked, pointing to a picture of a younger looking Roxas laughing with a brunette girl, slightly chubby boy, and a boy with dirty blonde hair.

"They're Hayner, Pence, and Olette." Roxas said with a smile.

"Oh yeah. They look pretty cool." Axel commented.

"They were." Roxas sighed.

"Who're they?" Axel asked, pointing to some boys.

Roxas frowned, "Scar, Banzai, Ed, and Shenzi."

"Those kids that beat you up in middle school?" Axel asked.

"Yeah. Sora took the picture. He was going to give it to Cloud so he could beat them up, but I didn't want him or Cloud to get in trouble." Roxas admitted.

Roxas uncovered some pictures and inhaled sharply, looking away. Axel made a noise like a hiss and glared at the photo.

"Why do you have a picture of HIM?" He asked, pointing to the picture of Roxas and Vexen smiling at the camera.

"…At the beginning of the year, before… anything happened… he made everyone take a picture with him." Roxas replied.

"Why did you keep it?" Axel asked.

"I haven't looked in this box for a long time. I never looked at the pictures, I just threw them in and forgot about them." Roxas explained. This seemed to relax the redhead a bit. Roxas put most of the pictures away, but kept out a few they hadn't looked at yet.

"Where are you guys?" Axel asked, pointing at a picture of Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette at the top of the tower and in the usual spot.

"That's Twilight Tower. It's pretty famous, and we found a back entrance and sat at the top. It had a great view. The other place was our Usual Spot. It was a glorified alleyway, there was this gate and we covered it with an old green sheet and decorated the place." Roxas said, smiling at the memories.

"Sounds like you liked it."

"I did. I miss Twilight Town sometimes. But then again, I miss a lot of things." Roxas responded.

"Hey Rox?" Axel asked.

"Hmm?"

"Would you freak out if I kissed you?"

Roxas smiled. "No."

Axel grinned and leaned into the blonde's lips, slowly moving his to try to get Roxas to kiss back. Roxas did, and he wound his hands into Axel's hair, pulling the redhead closer. Axel licked the smaller boy's lip and Roxas opened his mouth in response, moaning when he felt Axel's tongue exploring.

Suddenly a flashback of Vexen hit him, but he pushed it away. There was no way that old creep was going to take away his time with Axel, not now that he finally got better and finally got to kiss his boyfriend again.

Not now that he was going to have to go soon.

There was no denying it. What Vexen said was true, one of them had to die for this all to be over. And Roxas knew that as of now he wasn't strong enough to fight off Vexen, especially if Vexen had the upper hand. So Roxas would probably be the one to die. Or this would never end. Whichever came first.

Axel broke the kiss needing air, and Roxas smiled at him. "You freaked out." Axel whispered.

"No I didn't." Roxas said, furrowing his brow as he tried to think if he did.

"Yes you did. You got all rigid right before the end." Axel said.

"Well… maybe I did freak out a bit… but I didn't want to! I… I wanted to keep kissing you. And I didn't want some dirty scumbag inside my head screwing it up." Roxas muttered.

Axel laughed at that and crushed the blonde to his chest.

"I love you Roxas. We should get some sleep." He whispered.

"I don't want to sleep." Roxas said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Axel asked. He had noticed the dark circles under the blonde's eyes and knew he wasn't sleeping enough.

"If I sleep I remember." Roxas said with a grimace. He didn't want Vexen in his dreams. He didn't want his parents in them either. Or Scar's gang, or even Xion. Reality was better.

"You've got to. Otherwise you'll pass out in class and have a nightmare there." Axel explained, trying to give the blonde a reason other than personal well being, since Roxas really didn't care much about that.

The blonde seemed to consider it, then swept the rest of his pictures into a box and got under the covers.

"Only if you stay here with me." He whispered.

"Okay." Axel said with a smile, he clicked off the light and climbed in next to the blonde, who immediately flinched, then relaxed into Axel's arms.

"I love you too. I'm so sorry." Roxas whispered when he was sure Axel was asleep.

One of the blondes had to die. And Roxas knew it was going to be him.


	23. Normal?

***Yes, yes I am a horrible person who should die for not updating this in forever. But I'll have you know that I was thinking up the plot for this for a long time and I don't want to rush it because I have no time t write. I got school, homework, Every Day, and a book I'm writing. Not to mention that I now have a social life that suddenly decided to appear the second I walked into high school. Well, not true, last year I blew it off to work on fanfics and stuff, but I really do enjoy having friends and sports and semi-popularity. That is the basic reason of my non-updating. Onward!***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas went on for the next few weeks as normally as his mind allowed. He randomly looked around suddenly sometimes, or flinched at nothing, but his friends all assumed it was the flashbacks that Axel had told them about.

For a while, Roxas had been having flashbacks of being trapped in Vexen's house. He would be doing something totally normal, and suddenly he or someone else would set off a trigger in his mind that brought him back to Vexen. Or even his parents. He could control it in public, just going rigid and not showing any emotion, barley even breathing. But, if he got one at Axel's house he usually flipped out, screaming and crying and struggling. It was because all the worst memories of Vexen happened in rooms with beds, so at school there was none of that. Or in kitchens, again not really in schools.

An excellent example of this was when Roxas got home and saw Anastasia. It was odd, since she had been staying at Demitri's house lately. He said hi and heard her call something to him about dinner being in the fridge and she'd be going back to Demitri's. Roxas called back a thanks and worked on his homework. Axel was in detention once again, but Demyx's mom was going to give him a ride since Demyx was in detention too. Roxas walked into the kitchen and immediately froze.

"_Roxas, stay very still and maybe I'll give you a treat." Vexen teased. Roxas pulled on his restraints anyways. Today was one of those days. One of the days that he was just with Vexen._

"_Roxas, let me hear that beautiful voice of yours." Vexen cooed. He took out a kitchen knife and held it teasingly above the blonde strapped to the bed. Roxas let out a whimper and pulled his bleeding wrists in the metal handcuffs. Tears streamed down his face. _

"_This will only hurt… a lot." Vexen said with a smirk as though it was a clever remark and he brought the knife down in a long slice across Roxas's chest. The blonde boy screamed, hating himself for doing what Vexen wanted. He lay limply, going into zombie mode until Vexen was finished with him. The older blonde lay asleep in the blood soaked sheets. The cut wasn't deep. It stung, but Roxas wasn't going to die or anything. _

_Roxas looked around for the knife. He found it, it was in the reach of his cuffed hands. He grasped it and used it as a lock pick. He thanked Xion in his mind for teaching him how to pick the locks on the pantry. Roxas rubbed his raw wrists and contemplated what to do for a second. He heard Vexen beginning to wake. No chance of escape. Roxas looked down at the knife in his hands. He would kill himself. But where? His throat, it would silence the thing Vexen loved._

_And so Roxas took a deep breath and brought the knife to the sensitive skin of his neck. He tested the sharpness with a poke. It stung like a bitch. Well, best to get it over with quickly. Vexen's eyes were just fluttering open as Roxas dragged the knife across his windpipe and let himself go limp._

**Axel Pov**

Axel opened the door loudly with a "Jesus BALLS! It's fucking COLD!" 

He dropped his stuff on the floor and thought he heard something. He stood very still and paused his iPod. Screaming. That's what he heard.

Axel ran into the kitchen, where he heard the screams from and prayed to God that Roxas had just found a spider and wasn't in another flashback. But instead he found Roxas crying and screaming into his knees as he was scrunched in a ball against the wall, sitting upright. He looked around for whatever must have triggered it and found a knife on the counter, tinged with dried blood. Axel put the offending item in the sink and went to his boyfriend.

"Roxas?" He asked, putting his arm around the shivering and no longer screaming boy. Roxas nearly threw Axel across the room and held his knees, screaming and wailing once more. Axel got up, wincing from his hurt arm, and went back to Roxas.

"Rox, it's me." Axel said, being sure not to touch him.

"Get the hell away from me Vexen!" Roxas yelled.

"Not Vexen, Axel. See, red hair!" Axel said desperately, tugging at his spikes.

"A… Axel?" Roxas asked, still not showing his face.

"Yeah, Axel. Got it memorized?" He asked with an attempt at a signature smirk.

"N… No… You're not Axel! You're Vexen! You're trying to trick me again! Get the hell away from me!" Roxas yelled, pushing Axel again.

Axel rubbed his cheek. There would probably be a bruise there. He sighed.

He went to his room and grabbed the biggest, thickest blanket he had and took it back to the kitchen, where Roxas was sobbing into his knees and rocking back and forth. He threw the big white blanket over the blonde and held on tight, stopping Roxas from struggling. The boy was still screaming, but now the cries were muffled. Roxas flailed into Axel's ribs and the redhead coughed hard. That hurt.

But eventually Roxas's screams stopped, subsiding to pitiful sobs, and he stopped moving. Axel cradled the bundle and rocked it back and forth.

"Shh, it's me. Axel. It's Axel. You're fine. You're home." Axel said, repeating it like a mantra. Soon Roxas's sobs even stopped and he grabbed hold of the edge of the blanket.

"I'm fine now Axel." Roxas said, his voice scratchy from the screaming.

Axel took the blanket from him and put the blonde on his lap, where they just sat for a bit. Roxas was still shaking from the memories.

"So… what just happened?" Axel asked, as he had seen these before, he needed to know why Roxas said something about him though.

"Flashback… I couldn't hold it in this time… I just let go. I… I'm sorry you had to see it." Roxas said quietly.

"What… What were you… flashing back about? Or don't I want to know?" Axel asked.

"I… I'll have to tell you. He… used a kitchen knife the day I tried to slit my throat. And that brought me back. And then, well he had some kind of recording with your voice on it. I don't know how he got it or when, but he used it to make me think you were there. I was on drugs, so it made sense at the time… I guess I should have known better, and I figured it out after the third time. It took me that long… I think I had brain damage or memory loss or those were really good drugs… or maybe it was because I wanted to see you again." Roxas admitted.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't find you sooner." Axel whispered, burying his face in Roxas's hair.

"No… It's fine… I just really love you is all." Roxas said with a slight smile.

Axel turned his blonde to face him and Roxas's face fell.

"Where'd you get that bruise?" He asked worriedly.

"Uh… I tripped." Axel said, trying not to let Roxas know.

"No! I've used that excuse a million times, and unless you are thrown there is like no possible way for that to happen without any blood. I hit you when I was flashing back, didn't I? I'm so sorry." Roxas gushed.

"No, it's not your fault. You didn't know it was me." Axel tried to comfort him.

"Here." Roxas said, kissing the taller boy's bruised cheek. "All better."

"It feels better already. Let's get some of that dinner Ania made, I'm starved." Axel said. Roxas nodded and grabbed the plates.

**Roxas Pov**

Another day, another nightmare.

Roxas sighed and clutched his pillow. After that first night when Axel slept with him (not like that!) Roxas had asked that the redhead not sleep in his bed. He didn't want to wake him with the nightmares, and to be honest, he didn't want Axel to hear them. He hated explaining. He hated to relive them, but he knew that Axel just was too curious.

He knew that he could just ask Axel to not ask anymore, but he didn't want to take any privilege away from Axel. He didn't want Axel to blame himself again when he was kidnapped. Roxas knew he would be kidnapped. There was no doubt. Vexen already knew where he was, Roxas was sure. There was no way he didn't. It was only a matter of time.

Time… Roxas glanced at the clock. One in the morning. He was too afraid to sleep, but too tired not to. And like Axel said before, it would be bad if he fell asleep during class. Roxas closed his eyes warily and drifted into an uneasy slumber.

Nightmares, as usual. It was strange, how ordinary the terror he lived through each night was. Another nightmare about a couple of the faceless men who visited Roxas in his drug induced haze. One cried when he visited the blonde. He cried and told him that he was so sorry, but that his lover died and he needed someone. It was strange how much Roxas remembered. The man had told him that he looked a lot like his lover. And there was the man who had burned him with cigarettes and slapped him a lot. And then there were all the others, who blurred into one general form, the ones who just dragged him to the room with the bed, did what they came there to do, and left.

Roxas held in his scream and bolted upright in his bed, almost ready to barf up his dinner. But he knew that wouldn't do any good. And He lay back on his bed, gasping for air and trying not to think of what he had seen in his memories.

Then, a few minutes later at one in the morning, the cell phone buzzed. THE cell phone, the one Vexen had given him.

It was a text. He looked at it, trying to still his shaking hand so he could actually read it.

"You have a month."

That was the entire message. Roxas was about to yell for Axel, but he was stopped by another buzz.

"If you tell that stupid redhead, he'll be taken with you. And I will kill him in front of your eyes."

Roxas stared at the words until the screen turned black.

What was he going to do?

***Oh dear, what will Roxas do? Will he doom Axel and take him with into the hell of Vexen's torture? Or will he risk having to go back with no guarantee that he'd be free again?***


	24. Leave

*****Please Read. **Hey, hey! I just read my email and guess who just got her first flame? This girl! Ahahaha! It was a great laugh, and I quote "From: fuck you() - fuck you:kill yourself you waste of human resource" End quote. But you see, it's funny because they didn't use proper grammar and they're being assholes, and they claim that they're NOT a waste of resource? Oh well, some people are just stupid. At any rate, this gives me an opportunity to ask something I've been wondering for a while. Did I offend anyone with my Catholicism bashing? Because I used to be Catholic, and I'm still Christian (Lutheran now) but I just don't think all those bible thumpers are right. And don't get me wrong, all you Catholics out there, I like you. Hell, some of my friends are Catholic, since I used to go to a Catholic school when I was little! It's just that it seems to me that most of the people who hate gays are Catholic (sorry Catholics, not being an ass) and religion seems to play a huge part in the debate about gays. In fact, when I told one of my best friends, who was raised Catholic, that I was bi, she totally rejected me. But my other friend who's Catholic gave me a hug and asked if that's what had been eating me up the whole time. So, it's really about the people, you know? Wow, this was a big intro today. I hope someone at least reads it. And thanks, candy3314! You're review was really sweet.***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas closed his eyes and sighed. Vexen always knew just how to play him. He knew he wouldn't drag Axel in there for the world.

But then again, Roxas should probably figure out a way to tell Axel. And he had the perfect idea. It had been four months since the kidnapping so today was the… March 24th? Sounds about right. So a month later would be April 24th. God damn. A month is no time at all.

And Roxas had to find a way to say his goodbyes without attracting much suspicion.

So, once he had formulated a plan, he nodded to himself.

And then he screamed. He cried bloody murder into the silence, and he heard Axel get up and shamble over to see what was wrong.

"Wazzdamater?" Axel slurred still half asleep. Roxas had hid the phone and he started sobbing and shaking, faking a flashback.

"Oh damn it, not twice in one day." Axel complained. Roxas felt guilty, especially when Axel braced himself and threw a blanket over him and hugged him tight.

"It'll be fine." Axel said tiredly.

"No Vexen! Not April 24th! That… that's they day Xion died!" Roxas cried, actually just realizing it for the first time.

"Hmm?" Axel asked.

"No! No you can't kill me that day! No! I can't die that day! Axel will save me by then!" Roxas continued to cry.

Axel's shoulders sagged, both with relief and guilt. He was so glad he got Roxas out in time, but still, why couldn't he have gotten him out sooner?

"NO! You will not find me! I'll be far away, and you'll be dead! Or in jail! You won't find me by then! Wh—What are you doing with that needle?" Roxas asked in a scared voice. He stopped moving and feigned sleep.

Oh, if Vexen found out that this wasn't a real flashback, Roxas would be dead. But, of course, Vexen had this plan before. He had even unveiled it to Roxas, but he never said anything about coming to find the smaller blonde, and Roxas had never said anything about Axel.

"Roxas." Axel whispered in his ear. Roxas didn't move, trying to make Axel leave.

"Ugg… I'm too tired to go back to bed. I hope you won't kill me when you wake up and I'm here." Axel said with a rather loud yawn. Roxas smiled under the blanket. Maybe he could get some sleep after all.

Axel didn't mention the flashback the next morning. Or any time during the next week, where Roxas was trying to figure out how to tell the others goodbye.

He did mention it one day though.

"Hey Roxas." He said and the blonde turned his head.

"Yeah?" He had been about to go to bed.

"You… you had a flashback… or a nightmare… a while ago, and you said something about the 24th?" Axel asked, trying to figure if he had heard right.

"No idea what you're talking about… all that's on the 24th that I'm aware of is Xion's deathday." Roxas lied a bit sadly.

"Oh. Never mind then." Axel muttered, and he went back to thinking quietly.

So, Roxas just continued his routine over the next few weeks, but he sneakily started cleaning out his locker, so slow that even Axel didn't notice. And he wrote his long goodbyes to everyone and hid them under his desk. On the second to last day, April 23rd, Roxas left a note in his locker telling whoever in concerned where to find the letters. And, of the 24th, he first went to Selphie's and did their whole, house of cards/nerds thing. And then he went with his other friends, plus Sora and Cloud, to visit Xion's grave.

After a long bit of silence, Sora randomly burst out "Did you know that hair grows a long time after you're dead? Like, if we dug up Xion-er-Aqua, her hair would be black." He said, extremely randomly.

Cloud and Roxas just stared at him for a second. Axel and Demyx looked at each other with a glint in their eyes, and Namine was giggling softly into Marluxia's chest. The corners of Zexion's mouth twitched as he looked down at the ground.

And suddenly, everyone was laughing, and like that the tension that Roxas didn't even notice was there, was gone. Everyone started to talk and joke, and they said that they knew Xion wouldn't want them to be quiet at her grave, that she'd wasn't them to laugh and talk and have fun.

'I guess I'll have to ask her.' Roxas thought to himself. And then Demyx pounced on him with a random hug and he laughed, hugging the spastic blonde back. Axel looked at him in surprise.

"You let him hug you?" He asked in a low voice.

'It's probably the last time he'll see me alive.' Roxas thought, but he said "Yeah. I feel good today. Like, Xion's watching my back." He lied with a smile. Xion definitely wasn't watching over him today.

But, after they all had lunch, Roxas hugged Namine, Marluxia, and Demyx goodbye as he left to see off Sora and Cloud. He shot Zexion and Larxene smiles, though he knew that they'd be dangerous to hug. Especially if Larxene had that damned zapper-thing.

Roxas hugged Cloud, although the taller blonde had no real love for PDA, and he let Sora squeeze him extra long before he gasped "Need…air."

He told Sora to say hi to Riku and Kairi, and he told Cloud that he'd tell Areith and Zack hi for him. Roxas mentally kicked himself for that. He didn't want to not keep his promises.

Then, he and Axel went out on a date. They went to an ice cream shop, and discovered that they both loved sea salt ice cream. They grinned and shared a popsicle, since they were dead broke, and caused people to get disgusted and leave. It was really hilarious, and Roxas was so happy that he didn't have to watch his back for his parents or Vexen. For just today, he was free.

But then the sun began to set. He and Axel watched it from the top of a building, which wasn't quite the same as watching it from Twilight Tower. But Roxas couldn't complain.

And for once, Anastasia was home for dinner, with Demitri. They all ate like a family, with Demitri asking about school, and Anastasia gushing about work, and gossiping a bit about her coworkers. Axel and Roxas joked and told them about their day at the grave. And Roxas felt like he actually belonged to a family, for once.

But, nothing lasts forever. Roxas kissed Axel goodnight and crawled into his bed alone. He had debated asking Axel to sleep by him, but he decided no. If he was going through this for Axel to be safe, he wouldn't put the redhead in harm's way.

Roxas waited for midnight. He waited and waited and held the little cell phone in his hands. It buzzed.

"Meet me two blocks from the redhead's house, on Destiny Street.

Roxas got up soundlessly, and pulled on a coat. He walked out of his room, only to be greeted by Axel lying on the couch. The redhead looked up at the blonde with eyes full of fury.

"Roxas! How could you leave?" Axel demanded, sitting up.

"A-Axel?" Roxas stuttered.

"Yeah, Axel. I heard the phone go off. I know he texted you. Give me the phone Roxas. I can't stand to lose you again." Axel said, holding out his hand.

Roxas obediently got up and walked to him. He was about to put the phone in the redhead's outstretched hand, but instead he kneed him in the balls.

"I'm so sorry Ax, but if you don't want to lose me again, you'll understand that I don't want to lose you at all." Roxas whispered to the redhead who was currently on the ground in pain.

But, years on the street had taught Axel a fast recover time. He got back up and grabbed Roxas's wrist.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused by Roxas's statement.

"Vexen said that if I told you anything, he'd torture you like he did to me and kill you. I don't want that to happen to you, Ax. I love you." Roxas cried.

"I.. I love you too." Axel whispered, and he kissed Roxas's lips.

And suddenly, Roxas woke up.

He had fallen asleep before the phone buzzed. It was still 11:45.

Eventually, the phone did buzz.

"Meet me at the corner of Radiant and Garden." Said the text.

His old house? That was strange. Roxas pulled on his jacket and took off his Wayfinders. He put them on top of Axel's letter.

Roxas snuck to the door, noticing that his dream was right about Axel laying on the couch, but the redhead had fallen asleep. And Roxas knew that meant that Axel was dead to anything but screaming now.

So he kissed his boyfriend's forehead, and walked out.

It took him a while, but he got to his old house alright. And as he suspected, Vexen had a stalker van waiting. Roxas panicked at the sight of the needle that Vexen was holding though, and he tried to run. Foolish really. Roxas's father caught him and handed him to the evil blonde man.

Vexen emptied the contents of the syringe into Roxas's arm and threw him in the back of the van, locking it tight.

And Roxas's house of cards fell. It was down to the bottom layer. And there was no chance it would build itself up. Vexen was going to kill him, that's all there was to it. He was going to die because of that man.

But Axel wasn't.

***This was fun to write! And it didn't take me long at all! Please read the author's note above and have a shiny day!***


	25. A Year

***Hey guys! Fear not, this story is far from over! Now, let's see what our favorite boys are up to. (David: What?) I told them to read the story. (David: No you didn't, you told them to see what they're favorite boys are up to. I'm a favorite boy.) Dave, you're my brother, of course you're my favorite boy. But you're not their favorite boy. Our common favorite boys are Roxas and Axel. (David: Oh, you're doing that Aky-Rokun stuff, huh?) Yeah. So, I'll just get on with my writing now. (David: Okay. Oh, you want me to leave don't you?) Yeah. (David: Oh. Bye everyone! *waves*) Okay, that was my big brother David. And, here is your fic!***

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas awoke in a new place, naked. He started shaking violently when he remembered why he was there. But he remembered why he didn't tell anyone, because he wanted to keep Axel safe. It was stupid, he knew, but he didn't want Axel to die, not when the redhead had fought to live on the streets, not now that Axel actually had a family. The thought didn't comfort him much, but it was something to hold on to. Then Vexen came into the room and all good thoughts were erased from Roxas's mind.

**Axel Pov**

Axel yawned and stretched as he woke up. He smiled lightly and then frowned. Ugh, a school day. He went to the kitchen, since it was only 5:00 in the morning, and he made some pancakes for him and Roxas. He knew that although the blonde didn't want to show it, yesterday had been hard on him. So he deserved a good breakfast, even if it wasn't waffles.

He finished the last one and went to wake up the blonde in question. He called into the dark room, "Rox honey, wake up."

There was no answer. Which was strange, since Roxas was such a light sleeper after all. Axel flipped on the light.

Roxas wasn't there.

"Roxas?" Axel called, panicking. He check all the rooms, running around like a madman and finding that he was the only one left in the house.

"Roxas!" He yelled, over and over. But there was never an answer.

He went back to investigate Roxas's room, and he found a stack of letters in his photo box. And the one on the top said "Axel".

He took it with shaky hands and ripped open the envelope.

"Dear Axel,

I'm sorry. I know you probably won't believe it, but I AM sorry. I… I had to leave. I had to go back. Vexen… he told me he'd kill you if I told anyone, but at least he gave me my time to say my goodbyes. I miss you already, just writing these. And don't blame yourself. Don't you dare blame yourself, it was my choice, this vile man is after me. You had nothing to do with it. I…I hate to ask this of you again, but please find me? I really wish I didn't have to ask, but please? You can… you can dump me or hate me or whatever you want, just please find me. Or get the cops to find me. I'm so sorry, but I did this to save you. I love you. Please believe me when I say-er-write that. I love you more than anything, maybe even more than I love Cloud and Sora. Hope I'll see you soon.

I love you, Roxas."

Axel's legs gave out and he sank to the floor. He couldn't handle this, not again. But… Roxas needed to be saved. And hopefully this time Vexen would die. Axel dried his eyes, which he didn't even know had been leaking tears, and he checked the stack of letters.

Namine, Demyx, Zexion, Marluxia, Larxene, Cloud, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Anastasia, Demitri, even Saix. Axel choked back a sob, realizing that Roxas wrote these because he thought he was going to die, and that the redhead wouldn't be able to save him.

Axel picked up the phone and called the police. Screw the 24 hour law, this note was enough evidence.

**One Week Later Roxas Pov**

Roxas slowly sat up, sore from the bruises and cuts, but he knew that the worst was yet to come. And with his parents here… this looked like it would be two times as bad as last time.

In fact, his mother was coming in now, holding a bible and some rubbing alcohol. Roxas winced at the thought of what the alcohol was for. Well, at least his cuts wouldn't get infected…

**Axel Pov**

Axel told himself to calm down, that he would find his little blonde eventually. But that didn't keep him from almost tearing out his hair every time the phone rang and there was no news on Roxas.

**One Month Later Roxas Pov**

Roxas screamed loudly, though he knew well by now that no one could hear him. He screamed at the top of his lungs, praying to a God he didn't believe in that someone, anyone, would save him from this hell. Vexen smirked and when he was finished, he pulled out some chains.

Even though Vexen had no problem with hurting any other part of Roxas's body, he made sure that his face was never cut. It might become bruised and swollen, but never cut.

As the chains hit Roxas's back, he screamed again, and his frantic praying started up once more.

**Axel Pov**

Axel was beyond pissed at the police. Sure Hollow Bastion was a big city, and sure there was tins of crime, but there was a big chance that Roxas was still alive and they were taking officers off the case? Fine, that would just mean that Axel would have to work even harder.

**Two Months Later Roxas Pov**

Roxas was almost at his limit now. He was crying constantly, tears leaking out his permanently swollen shut eyes. His father walked in, drunk like he was every other day for all these two months, and he decided to take out his random rage on Roxas. And Roxas thought to himself, 'and I called this abuse? When I was living with them, this was the worst it got. I should have protected them more, I never should have fallen in love with Axel.'

Then his father's boot connecting with his head caused all thoughts to cease and darkness to take over.

**Axel Pov**

Axel was in the hospital for exhaustion. He flat out passed out in school. Anastasia knew he would never catch up in his schoolwork like this.

**Three Months Later Roxas Pov**

It was weird, but Roxas was starting to believe his mother's bible stories and rants. At first he just listened to them to take his mind off where he was, but now…? He didn't know. And the pounding in his head didn't help any either.

**Axel Pov**

Nothing changed. But no one was giving up hope, not yet.

**Four Moths Later Roxas Pov**

Every time Roxas thought about his redhead it hurt. It hurt his chest even more than when his mother poured a salt/alcohol mixture on the open wound. And it hurt more than picking glass out of his bare skin hurt, which he was doing now. It hurt so bad.

**Axel Pov**

Axel thought he found the place but no… it was just where Vexen had ditched the cell phone. But really, that had to mean he was getting closer right? Right?

**Five Months Later Roxas Pov**

One day, while his mother was demanding he confess all his sins to her, Roxas's mind snapped. He wouldn't move, wouldn't talk, wouldn't eat. They had to shove food and water down his throat for him to live. But he just stared at the walls. It was like he was a mannequin.

**Axel Pov**

Axel was closer, he could feel it in his bones. It was like he could hear Roxas trying to tell him where he was. But the voice just wasn't loud enough.

**Six Months Later**

Roxas didn't move. He barley breathed. But Vexen and his parents found it amusing. They thought he had lost the will to live… and after half a year of what hell he went through, they'd be right.

**Seven Months Later**

Axel found Roxas's sweatshirt. He was close.

**Eight Months Later**

Roxas snapped out of it. He was hypnotized by his mother's words though. But he hated her. But he knew it was a sin to hate her. And he knew he was a sin. He should not have been born, he should have died, it was all his fault his brother was gay, it was all his fault his brother rebelled, it was all his fault his sister died. It was all his fault his parents lives were ruined. It was all his fault they had to hit him. It was all his fault his friends were miserable. It was all his fault Axel was heartbroken.

No, he couldn't think of Axel like that. He couldn't think of Axel period. He could not love Axel. It was a sin, did he want to go to hell?

**Nine Months Later**

Roxas had been hit in the head one too many times again and his memories were blurring together with the lies his mother fed him each day along with the salt and alcohol. They were shattered, like the broken glass protruding from his skin.

He deserved it all. Except he didn't deserve what Vexen was doing. What Vexen was doing was wrong, and a sin.

But, Vexen was the devil. So maybe Roxas did deserve it.

**Ten Months Later**

Axel had the place scanned out, he had all the info… but he had to wait for the police. And wait and wait. For another month. He hoped Roxas could hold on. He needed Roxas to hold on, because he wanted to do this thing right.

**Eleven Months Later**

Roxas couldn't breathe properly. He was going to die, he could feel it in his bones. The ones that weren't bruised, that is. Vexen was going to kill him soon. And he deserved it. He wanted it, actually. He wanted to die so badly, to escape the pain. He was always in pain, and his head was so confused. He was so confused all the time, he barley knew up from down and definitely didn't know right from wrong.

And, one day as Vexen was finishing his business he started to talk.

"Oh, tell me you love me, Roxas." Vexen commanded. Roxas thought it was weird, since in all of the eternity he had been here, Vexen never once asked that.

Roxas was silent.

"Damn it Roxas, that's an order." Vexen growled.

Roxas still wouldn't say it. Maybe he'd get lucky and Vexen would kill him.

Vexen took his knife and drew it slowly down Roxas's face, causing the smaller blonde to whimper in pain at the deep cut on his cheek.

"Say it." Vexen hissed.

"Over my dead body." Roxas said quietly, so quietly he barley even heard it himself.

"What did you say to me?" Vexen roared.

"Nothing, I'm sorry." Roxas whimpered, shutting his eyes as his self preservation instinct kicked in.

"Better have been nothing."

**Eleven Months, One Week, and Two Days Later**

Axel led the police to the hide out. They had promised he could see Roxas, and show them where Vexen was, as long as he didn't interfere at all otherwise.

Only two police officers were with him. All the rest of the officers on his case had been assigned to others.

They were Officer Dawn Reese and Officer Willow Fur. They were both girls, Dawn Reese had shoulder length brown hair and kept flicking her eyes to Axel like she thought he was cute. If Axel hadn't been so drained, he would have been flattered. Officer Willow Fur had long black hair with a red streak. She was pretty quiet and serious.

They broke down the door and held up their guns, yelling who they were and why they were there. "Police, we're looking for Roxas Strife!" They yelled.

They noticed movement in a corner of the room, and Officer Dawn Reese went to check it out.

"We found him!" She called to her partner, who cracked a smile.

But then there was another movement. A suspect with long blonde hair was running at Roxas with a knife, as if he was going to kill him. Officer Willow Fur shot. Vexen fell.

There was an ambulance that had accompanied them to this place and they put Roxas in it, and Axel climbed in. Roxas seemed to be knocked out. Either drugs or, more likely, he had just passed out from exhaustion and pain. The EMTs started working on him right away, giving him blood and fluids in bags, along with pain killers.

Axel gripped his hand tight.

He was glad that he hadn't given up hope. That he was going to bring his blonde home.

***Tah Dah! Reese and Willowfur made their promised cameos, and yes Reese, the part you've been waiting for will come. Fear not. We just have to see if Roxas will recover… mentally and physically.***


	26. Time

***I am SO sorry this is so freaking late! It's just that I wrote this chapter halfway through about five times, and my computer kept crashing and erasing everything so I was fed up with it. But fear not! I will not be ending this any time soon! {And Becca- Thanks for the review, it's what reminded me to write this :)} And thank you to everyone who reviewed!***

**Axel Pov**

Axel paced the ER waiting room floor nervously. He had been here for hours, but the clock seemed to move slowly, but then speed up randomly. Five minutes felt like an hour, but an hour felt like a moment. Ugh, it was 3:00 and hour ago! How can it only be 3:09? Wait… why is it 5:00 now?

Everyone was here. Just waiting. Officers Dawn and Willow were waiting off in a corner, just talking to each other. Hayner was trying to console Olette, who was crying into Pence's shoulder. Namine was numbly clutched to Marluxia. Demyx was reading over Zexion's shoulder, though Demyx always hated Zexion's books and Zexion hated people reading over his shoulder anyways. Larxene was holding Namine's hand, both to comfort the girl and to have something to hang on to. Selphie was sitting with Kairi, who was sitting next to Sora and Riku. Sora had been helping Axel search this whole time. Now he was holding onto his boyfriend's arm like a teddy bear. Cloud was zoning out as Areith and Zack tried to talk to him and Tifa held his hand. Anastasia and Demitri were sitting a little away from the group, with Namine's mom.

A doctor came out and Axel rushed over.

"Is he okay?" The redhead demanded.

"He… He'll be okay physically. We had a scary moment there, some of his wounds would have been fatal if he hadn't been brought in. But he's fine now. We don't know about his mental or emotional state though, he hasn't woken up this whole time. We found lots of drugs in his system and we've been giving him a detox. You can see him now, but one or two at a time." The doctor informed.

Sora, hearing this, pushed past Axel and ran to the room. Anger flared up in Axel, but he remembered that Sora was Roxas's brother, his twin. He had a right to see him first.

**Sora Pov**

Sora rushed into the room, Riku following, and held his brother's bandaged hand. He did his best not to crush it and he sat in the hard plastic chair next to the bed. Roxas looked like hell, his cheeks were hollow, his face various shades of purple, blue, red, and yellow with a plaster on his cheek. His eyes were sunk in, and Sora knew that if they were open they wouldn't be bright and sparkling like normal. They'd be glazed over and dull.

"Roxas, you scared the shit out of me. Don't you dare ever do that to me ever again. I got your letter… It said how you forgave me for everything I ever did… And I'm so sorry I was so mean when we were kids. I shouldn't have dated Riku! I should have stayed with you and made sure you were safe… but I didn't. I'm so, so sorry! Please… please be okay. I should have protected you and Xion… please be okay." He whispered.

Riku cleared his throat.

"Rox, I'm sorry for taking Sora away from you… we shouldn't have been nicer when we were kids. We tried. And we should have stayed. But we can't go back in time to fix it, so please get better… if not for my sake, for Sora's." Riku said. Sora was crying hard, but he left to let others in to see Roxas.

**Hayner Pov**

Hayner rushed into the room next, followed by Pence and Olette, though the doctor had said only up to two. He ran over to Roxas and stood there for a second. Then he broke down and grabbed his hand roughly and let tears run down his face.

"Goddamnit Rox! Do you know how worried we were? You never told us much in your emails, and then this all happened! You got kidnapped twice! Damn it, what were you thinking? Didn't you listen in any of those stranger danger things at school? They said that everything was empty threats and that you were supposed to tell the police! C'mon Rox! And your fucking letter… God damn…. It gave me a heart attack." Hayner yelled.

Pence pried him away and Hayner fell into the chair, where he put his head in his hands.

"Roxas… what the hell man? You should have told us… The letters… man… I wish I could have done more." Pence said softly.

Olette grasped Roxas's now free hand. "Roxas… I understand. You thought you had to do it. And I forgive you. Just don't do it again, hear?" She said with a watery smile.

They all left and let the next group in.

**Tifa Pov**

Tifa clutched Cloud's arm as they walked into the room. Cloud… big, strong, quiet Cloud was crying. Tifa was shocked into silence. She had never seen the man cry.

He had told her all about Roxas… about everything. She knew how it tore him up inside to leave the kid there, but Roxas always insisted he was fine, and didn't want to see Cloud hurt anymore. She sighed and looked at the boy's face. He looked so different from the pictures that Cloud had, his eyes and cheeks were sunk in, like he was starving, and his whole skin had a yellow tint under the bruises.

Cloud was quiet. Tifa cleared her throat.

"I read the letter you sent Cloud. I'm sorry if I'm being blunt, but you're an ass. You shouldn't have done that. I know I was kidnapped by that bastard, but we could have taken him! You didn't need to go… You worried all of us so much." Tifa said softly. She brushed the boy's matted hair from his face.

"Cloud postponed the wedding for you. He wants you to be there. As the best man. He wants Sora, Barret and Zack in it too, but he wants YOU as the best man. And I wanted Areith and I don't know who else to be my bridesmaids… probably Kairi, Yuna, and Rikku. Those three have been pretty good friends to me. Areith's been nice, but I don't know her all that much. I'm going to stop babbling now, since people probably want to come in." Tifa said with a slight smile.

"Get… get better Roxas." Cloud said softly as they left.

**Areith Pov**

Both Areith and Zack were silent for half of their visit. Both their letters had thanked them for all their help and told them to be there for Cloud. It was obvious that he hadn't intended to live.

"Get better." Areith said, just as Zack said, "I'm sorry." And they both rushed out.

**Selphie Pov**

Selphie walked into the room followed by Kairi. She put a bag of nerds by the bed, kissed Roxas's forehead and ran out.

**Namine Pov**

Namine grabbed Roxas's hand and sniffled.

"You are an asshole." Marluxia said to Roxas. Namine gasped and looked at the pink haired boy in shock.

"He is! He worried us all and said that he was doing this for us. He basically said goodbye to us. He thought he was going to die, and he didn't have the guts to say goodbye in person." Marluxia ranted.

"It's okay Marly. He's back now. That's all that matters." Namine said quietly.

"No, it's not. He hurt all of us! You saw how many of us were out there! He is loved by so many people, and yet… he did this." Marluxia said quietly.

"I know… but he thought he that we could just get on with our lives. And all his memory hadn't come back… he got hit in the head a lot. I think he got some serious brain damage… and he could have even more now. Who knows, it's been almost a year." Namine said quietly.

"I know." Marluxia sighed, and they put flowers next to the bag of nerds. Namine put a picture she drew next to it.

**Zexion Pov**

Zexion and Demyx went in next. Demyx was quiet. As was Zexion. It almost surprised Zexion how quiet Demyx was.

Demyx pulled his guitar off his back and swung it around.

"I wrote this while you were missing." He said quietly. He played a small, sad sounding song without words.

Zexion just put a book down.

And they left.

**Axel Pov**

Anastasia and Demitri went in and out fast, as did Namine's mother. Officers Dawn and Willow merely put a flower on the bedside table and left.

Larxene grabbed Axel's hand. Everyone else had left for home to sleep Except for Sora, Riku, Cloud, Tifa, Namine, and Marluxia. He knew that they would stay until the hospital forced them to leave.

Larxene walked into the room with him and put a battery on the table. Everyone knew she loved electricity. She thought it fitting.

"Roxas… I'll kill you if you die on us." She said, and she ran out.

Axel was alone. He sat next to his boyfriend and looked at the clock. Had it really been two hours since the doctor had let Sora go in? Time flies…

"Roxas… I'm glad you're back." He said simply. He held the blonde's hand and felt something. The blonde squeezed back.

Axel's eyes widened and he searched the blonde's face. Roxas's features scrunched up and his eyes fluttered open.

He looked up at Axel, who was smiling and a look of fear and anger crossed his face. He bolted upright, gasping—from the pain in his ribs no doubt— and he backed away until his back hit the wall. The fear took over his eyes and he curled up into a ball.

"Roxas?" Axel asked, concerned.

"No, get away from me!" Roxas yelled. "Abomination, sin, horror, monster" He started chanting, and Axel wasn't sure whether the words were directed at him or the blonde. He pressed the call nurse button and Roxas began screaming.

"No! No! Not again!" Roxas was screaming. Axel knew there was something very wrong. The blonde's eyes were dull and scary.

"Roxas, it's me! It's Axel!" Axel exclaimed, catching hold of the blonde's hand. Roxas went very still then and he stared at the redhead in shock.

"Axel?" He asked, confusion lacing his voice.

"Yes!" Axel exclaimed, glad he had broken through to Roxas.

"Get away from me you faggot! Abomination! Sinner!" Roxas screeched, ripping his hand from Axel's grasp.

Axel swallowed his shock and recaptured the boy's hand. "No, I'm not an abomination. You loved me, remember?" Axel asked, searching the frenzied, feverish eyes.

"I am an abomination also. Monster… Devil… Demon…" Roxas mumbled under his breath.

The nurses rushed in then and saw the mumbling boy. They sedated him and walked the shocked redhead out of the room.

Namine, Cloud, and Sora rushed up to him and bombarded him with questions. It seems that they had heard the screaming, but couldn't discern the words.

"Slow down." Tifa said, and the three concerned friends fell silent. Tifa looked at Axel. "What happened?" She asked softly.

"He went nuts. Roxas broke… he started screaming, like he was having a flashback, but he _wasn't. _He meant to scream at _me._" Axel said sadly.

"What was he saying?" Sora asked.

"He was calling me a fag and an abomination, and when I told him that he loved me he started whispering about himself being a monster and stuff." Axel said.

"I have to see him." Cloud said, but Tifa held him back.

"No, I've spent enough time with Areith to know that's not what to do. Don't force too much on him at once, he'll just break down more. Give him some time. Time is probably what he needs the most." Tifa said.

**One Week Later**

Axel hadn't been allowed to see Roxas for that whole week. He was sick with worry, but not as bad as when Roxas had been missing. Cloud and Sora had been allowed to see Roxas, but that was it. 

Sora told him that Roxas was getting slightly better.

Cloud said worse.

But regardless, he was coming out of the hospital some time, since they really couldn't do anything about his messed up head besides send him to a therapist. He was healing quickly, and they said that they'd only keep him in there for about a month before they gave him to Cloud. Cloud was his legal guardian now. But if Roxas wanted to stay here, and from Sora's reports he did, and Cloud wanted to finish college, Roxas needed another home. Sora offered to transfer over to Hollow Bastion high with Riku, but Cloud wouldn't allow it. It was Sora's senior year, and he was the most popular kid in his class. Cloud couldn't take that away from him. And Roxas didn't even seem that comfortable with his twin.

Roxas actually acted his best with Cloud. No one, not even Cloud, could figure out why. And Roxas still had screaming and yelling fits with the blonde man.

Axel had fallen far behind in his work. At this rate he'd never graduate. He'd have to repeat 12th grade. He knew Roxas would have to.

Hell, Axel knew he was smart enough to test out of high school. He could do that and get a better chance at college anyways. His parents would've liked that. And Ariel could live with him once he was 18… she'd just be getting into high school, and he knew she was being transferred over here soon.

Axel went to the guidance counselor, a woman named Fang, and asked about testing out of high school. Fang was straightforward and told him exactly what he had to do. He went home that night and set everything up. Over the next week he turned his worry over Roxas into a mad desire to study. After that, he was done with school. Just like that.

Namine was shocked the next Monday when he came to school and outright fell asleep in the classes. She was even more surprised to see that the teachers let him.

"What the hell are you thinking? You missed enough school already!" She exclaimed.

"You know how Zexion tested out of high school sophomore year and now he's just taking all the college classes offered here?" Axel asked her.

"Yeah?" She said.

"I did the same thing last week. Except I needed school as a distraction, so here I am!" He said, gesturing to show that he was indeed here.

"Hell, if you can do that, why can't we?" She asked.

"You can if you want. It costs money and, but you can still come to school after it and you still get to graduate with your class." Axel informed her.

Namine nodded and went to Fang's room.

A few weeks later, and all of them had officially graduated. Even Demyx.

Now all they had to do was wait for Roxas.

**One Month Later Roxas Pov**

Oh this is hell. Or purgatory. Or the purgatory to get into hell.

He had seen Vexen shot, through that weird purple fog that the drugs set on his mind. Cloud and Sora had reaffirmed the fact.

But his mother and father were still out there.

He needed to find them.

His mother would be even more furious when she got ahold of him if he kept her waiting.

He sickened himself. He should have killed himself out here many times. He should have, but he was too much of a coward to do it.

Sora made him want to throw up what little he had in his stomach. The brunette was so… _gay_. And Roxas knew that he had to be sickened by that. It was unnatural. A sin and an abomination.

But Cloud… Cloud was fine. Roxas wanted to be far away from Cloud though. He didn't want to taint the blonde man with his awfulness. He wanted the man to leave him. So, when the doctors pronounced that he could go "home" and Cloud asked where he wanted to go…

"I want to stay here." He wrote on a paper. Cloud was the only person he would write to.

"With who? I can stay here with you." Cloud offered.

"No, go back to college." Roxas wrote.

"With Sora then?"

"No, he's going home."

"Namine?"

"No."

"Demyx?"

"No."

"Who?" Cloud asked. Those were the only ones who had offered to take Roxas in, besides…

"Axel." Roxas wrote. His face was unreadable, except for his eyes which were terrified all the time.

"Why him? I thought you hated him." Cloud asked.

"Because." And that's the only reason he'd offer.

The real reason was that Demyx scared Roxas, with all the hugging and stuff. And, like Cloud, he didn't want to taint Namine.

"Alright." Cloud said, and he called Axel.

After goodbyes to Sora and Cloud, where Roxas didn't even write anything, he got into Axel's car and allowed himself to be driven to Axel's new apartment.

Axel had moved out of Anastasia's house in the past year, since he was 18 now. He had tried to get custody of Ariel, but the foster system told him that he had to have a stable job and be out of high school. So Axel would have to wait.

***I couldn't think of a good way to end this chapter, so I just ended it suddenly. Here you go!***


	27. Home?

***Ah Jesus. I'm so sorry I haven't updated, I don't know. I'd say I've been busy and it wouldn't be a lie, but I just wasn't motivated at all. I'm really sorry. But where were we? Roxas just got away from his batshit nuts parents…Vexen died… Roxas flipped out on Axel, but he's going to live with him… Yeah, that's where we are!***

**Axel Pov**

Axel led Roxas into his apartment, taking care not to touch the blonde. Since Roxas had flinched whenever he was touched before all of this, heaven only knows what would happen now. He might go catatonic with shock or something.

"So, I moved out from Anastasia's house. I thought she should be left alone with Demitri since they're thinking of starting a family with a real child and stuff. I'd probably just be in the way." Axel said with a shrug. Roxas didn't respond, he just followed Axel through the house.

Axel took him on a tour, showing him the bathroom, the bedroom, the living room, and the kitchen (which had a lock on the knife drawer as a precaution), and the guest room.

"I guess this will be your room." Axel said, showing Roxas to the guest room, "You can decorate it any way you want, except you know, naked pictures or creepy Marilyn Manson posters. The second one just because the man freaks the hell out of me. I mean his music is okay if you're into that sort of thing, but he looks like a mental hospital escapee." Axel said with a slight grin, trying to get a laugh or at least a reaction out of Roxas.

Roxas walked to the bed and put his duffle bag of things from Cloud on his bed.

Axel ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I put most of your things in storage, but if there's anything you need just tell me. Or write it down or whatever you're going to do this time. So yeah… I'll be in the living room if you need me." Axel said. He closed the door behind him and rushed to the living room.

This wasn't what he expected. He had expected Roxas to be either the way he was last time or dead. This… he wasn't sure if this was better than dead. No! Of course it was… Of course… Axel sat heavily in his chair and put his head in his hands. This would be hard… he could tell.

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas sat lightly on Axel's… his bed. He looked around the room. The walls were stark white, and the floor was wooden. There was a nightstand, a mirror, a bed, and a dresser. But other than that, the room was empty.

Roxas's mind was buzzing with indecipherable words… mostly his mother's… everything she said…. It was all replaying in his mind. He still wasn't entirely sure if he was happy to be away from his mother or not. He had deserved everything he got… But he was glad that Vexen was dead. So glad. Should he be glad? He didn't know…

Roxas unzipped his duffle bag and glanced over at the other bag that Axel had carried in that was on the floor next to the door. He should unpack.

He organized the dresser with his clothes, he put a few books on the shelf in the nightstand, and he set some flowers that Namine and Marluxia had brought him on top of his dresser. Then he turned to face Axel's bag.

He unzipped it and gasped. On top were his Wayfinders. Roxas bit his lip and held them close. He had left them on his nightstand when he left… He debated for a very long time, his eyes filled with unshed tears as he stared at the necklaces in his hand. Eventually he slipped them around his neck. Mother's voice in his head was screaming at him, although he knew she never knew of the necklaces. He could hear her screaming at him. He had failed her yet again. He had defied her.

And that was only at the top of that damned Axel's bag.

He looked deeper into it and found a shoebox. His pictures…. He didn't want to look at them right now. He slid the box under his bed. An iPod and headphones. He put that on the nightstand. Another box. Roxas didn't remember it, though it had his handwriting on the top. It said "Me and Axel", so Roxas slid it under the bed again. An unmarked, taped box. He knew he had taped it shut… but why? Roxas slid it under the bed as well.

One more thing was at the bottom of the bag, although Roxas knew it wasn't supposed to be there. It was a crumpled note. This WAS Axel's gym bag after all… Roxas looked around conspiratorially, of course no one was there. He carefully unfolded it and looked. It was a note from Axel to Namine… stuff about the class… about what the homework was… and then, after a short joke by Axel and an "lol" by Namine there was a little "I hope we find him soon." And "We will".

Roxas crumpled the paper in his fist and stared at the wall.

This is wrong wrong wrongwrong wrong WRONG. He shouldn't be feeling this way… that emptiness… that feeling in his chest… what was it? It had to do with Axel… That abomination... What does it MEAN!

Roxas clutched his head and curled up on himself. He rocked back and forth on his heels, trying to stop all these reactions. He heard footsteps coming down the hall. He froze. He scrambled up from his position on the floor and shoved the note under his pillow. Roxas sat on his bed and looked at the wall determinately, trying to figure out that reaction as well. Why had he stopped? Why did he hide the note?

He was confusing himself. Roxas sighed and tried to make his mind blank as he leaned back on the wall that the bed was pressed against.

Someone knocked on the door. They said that they were going to come in. When Roxas didn't answer Axel opened the door and looked at the blonde on the bed who was looking blankly at the wall.

'He's disgusting' Roxas thought as the redhead looked at him, 'those tattoos… that demonic hair… he looks like Satan incarnate.'

"Roxas, we're having dinner. It'll be a good change from that tasteless hospital food. Hell, that stuff was so gross. It's a wonder that patients get well eating that sh—stuff." Axel corrected himself. "Anyways, I can't really cook without burning myself and my kitchen… poor stove… anyways, I made mac'n'cheese. It's not burned, so that's a plus, but it's not like gourmet or anything." Axel rambled on.

'He's such a dork.' Roxas thought fondly, almost letting a smile slip onto his face. But then he mentally slapped himself. 'NO! He's evil… horrible… the devil…'

Roxas got up off the bed and walked to the kitchen, right past Axel. He sat down and started to eat the food on the plate in front of him.

**Axel Pov**

Axel stood still where Roxas had walked past him. He felt so… hurt? Why should he? It wasn't like this was anything new… At least Roxas wasn't freaking out or punching him or anything. But still… And he had thought Roxas was going to laugh or smile at least for a moment there, but then that almost smile look turned into a very blank, almost angry look.

How was he even sure that had happened? Maybe he was interpreting wrong? It was a very slight shift, and how could Axel tell anyways?

This was so confusing… Roxas had BEGGED to be saved in his final letter to Axel… why was he acting like this? It just didn't make any SENSE! Axel nearly slammed his fist against the wall, but he stopped himself. That might scare Roxas. That wouldn't be good. No… That would be quite bad.

Axel followed Roxas to the kitchen and sat across from the blonde to eat. The dinner was silent and awkward, for Axel at least, until Roxas got up and left to his room. He closed the door and turned off the light.

Axel went to his computer and talked to Namine, trying to sort everything out.

**Roxas Pov**

Roxas went to his room and flicked off the light before climbing into bed. He couldn't sleep though. He just stared at the ceiling. And stared. He couldn't sleep. If he slept Vexen would come with his… hands. All over.

Roxas shuddered. His chest still had that funny, empty, painful feeling in it.

It was another punishment. For running away from Mother. It was his fault she and Father were on the run again. All his fault…

***This is the end of the chapter! Do you like? I'll try to have another up by next weekend.***


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